“Unveiling of Historical Marker Sheds Light on Unsolved Murders in Daytona Beach and Orlando: Derrick Henry Discovers Tragic Family Legacy”

Accident – Death – Obituary News : DAYTONA BEACH — Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry was recently confronted with a shocking revelation about his family history. Growing up, he knew that his grandfather on his mother’s side had died a sudden and violent death at the age of 58. Samuel O’Quinn, an accomplished Black businessman, father of 11, and civil rights advocate, was shot twice in the back on a steamy August night in Mississippi in 1959. The killer was never identified, charged, or convicted.

However, the discovery of another family tragedy hit Mayor Henry even harder. He learned that his other grandfather’s first cousin had been killed in Orlando in 1925. This news came as a surprise to him, as he didn’t think he had any relatives in Orlando during that time. But a year ago, one of his cousins received a call from a researcher investigating Florida lynchings, who confirmed that their relative, Arthur Henry, had indeed been killed almost 100 years ago.

To honor the memory of Arthur Henry and shed light on this tragic event, the Alliance for Truth and Justice placed a historical marker in front of the Wells’Built Museum of African American History & Culture in Orlando. This marker serves as a reminder of Arthur Henry’s death and ensures that his story is no longer buried with him and his terrified family members who lived in secrecy for their safety.

At the unveiling of the historical marker, around 80 Henry family members from different states gathered to witness this significant event. Mayor Henry expressed his astonishment at the discovery, stating, “I will spend the rest of my life trying to reconcile that. Part of the stunning part of this for us is that this is on both sides of the family. It was part of the historical DNA on my mother’s side, but we didn’t identify with that level of racial injustice on my father’s side of the family.”

The story of Arthur Henry’s murder remains unsolved even after a century. Arthur Henry, a 35-year-old man from Lake City, came to Orlando in 1925 to work in the citrus industry. He rented a house in Parramore, the only area where Black people were allowed to live in Orlando at the time. On Thanksgiving, the police received reports of white men firing guns in the neighborhood. Two white police officers entered Henry’s home, and a shootout ensued. Family members witnessed Henry being shot and beaten by the police. Henry fought back, but he was eventually taken into police custody and later to the hospital.

Henry was placed in the segregated basement of Orange General Hospital, shackled with his hands and feet, and guarded by a police officer. Despite the guard’s presence, a nurse witnessed three white men abducting Henry from his hospital bed shortly after midnight. Twelve days later, Henry’s bullet-riddled body was found dumped on the east side of Lake Conway. His murder remains unsolved, but his wife and three other Black women were arrested as witnesses to the original shooting and jailed.

Investigator Harry Coverston, from the Orlando-based Alliance for Truth and Justice, pieced together the details of Arthur Henry’s death through newspaper stories and his death certificate. The hospital reports and other official documents related to the case have mysteriously disappeared. Coverston described Arthur Henry’s death as a lynching, despite it not fitting the traditional definition of a public hanging. He believes that Arthur Henry’s beating and shooting outside of public view constitute a form of lynching.

Coverston’s research revealed that lynchings in Florida spiked after World War I. Racial tensions rose, and Black veterans who had fought for their country resisted returning to a life of oppression. The 1920s also marked a period of significant change in Florida, with a land boom and an influx of people from other states. This upheaval threatened the established hierarchies, leading some white Floridians to resort to violence to re-establish dominance.

The unveiling of Arthur Henry’s historical marker serves as a testament to the slow but eventual arrival of justice. Coverston, an Episcopal priest and retired lecturer, believes that the marker signifies hope and the possibility of reconciliation. While Arthur Henry’s tragic death was kept hidden from younger family members, the historical marker ensures that his story will be remembered and acknowledged.

Mayor Derrick Henry and his family are now faced with the challenge of reconciling their newfound legacy. The revelation of racial injustice on both sides of the family has deeply affected them. Mayor Henry vows to dedicate the rest of his life to understanding and coming to terms with this painful history..