Among the terrorist lynchings was the death of Julius " July " Perry of Ocoee , whose body was found November 3 , 1920 , hanged from a lightpole in Orlando , near the house of a judge known to be sympathetic to black voting . But this was part of a much larger story of KKK and other white attempts to suppress black voting in Ocoee and the state . African Americans had organized for a year to increase voter turnout for the 1920 presidential election , with organizations helping prepare residents for voter registration , paying for poll taxes , and similar actions . On Election Day in Ocoee , blacks were turned away from the polls . Perry , a prosperous farmer , was suspected of sheltering Mose Norman , an African-American man who had tried to vote . After Norman was twice turned away , white violence broke out , resulting in a riot through the black community , leaving an estimated 50 to 60 blacks dead and all the properties destroyed . Many blacks fled from Ocoee to save their lives , and the town became all-white . Voting efforts were suppressed for decades
50 to 60 blacks dead
Ocoee massacre
Orange County, Florida