Norma Padgett Dies at 92, Accused the Groveland Four of Rape
Times White Women Lied, and Black People Died
Norma Padgett, who falsely accused three young men and a boy of rape, died this week at the age of 92. She was wheelchair-bound and long ago lost the looks of the woman making the claim in 1949.
Carolyn Bryant died at 88, outliving Emmett Till by 68 years, after making accusations against him, including that he whistled at her and testified in court that he told her he’d “been with white women before.” Bryant later admitted the part about sleeping with white women wasn’t true but clung to her story about the wolf-whistle. She spent her last years trying to hide in anonymity, finally dying from cancer in a hospice.
Sarah Page, who sparked the Wall Street Massacre, disappeared and was never heard from again. Frances Taylor was beaten by her white lover but couldn’t tell her husband that story. She blamed it on a Black man, and the story later evolved to include a rape which led to the Rosewood Massacre. Frances lived to age 65. Cancer came for her, too. White women lied, and Black people died.
“Unsubstantiated rumors of…
