'Rosewood Day' candlelight ceremony

Dozens of people gathered at a historical marker to remember the lives that were lost in a massacre that happened 97 years ago.
The Real Rosewood Foundation, Inc. hosted its candlelight ceremony near the historical marker that was erected in May 2004.
Rep. Clovis Watson and Congressman Ted Yoho agreed to make January 1, 2020 ‘Rosewood Day' with a proclamation that was signed last year.
“I tell the story positively,” said Lizzie Robinson Jenkins, the founder and president of The Real Rosewood Foundation, Inc. “As bad as it was, I want everybody to feel a part of history because Rosewood history is our history-it’s everybody’s history. You may not have created it but you are a part of it."
Friends and members of the foundation shared the stories of the five people who died in the massacre.
They lit each candle in their memory and placed five angels on a tree to honor their lives.
“Once you understand and can feel it then you will understand it,” Jenkins said. “If you can’t feel it you can’t understand it. I feel what I am doing. I understand what I am doing. I know what I want to do. I want to see this world become a better place for all of us to live happily ever after."
The Real Rosewood Foundation, Inc. is planning to open a museum documenting the history of Rosewood in 2023, which will mark the 100-year anniversary of the massacre.