My cousin Tommie Lee's family decided to leave Perry for points north to NJ and Midwest to Detroit and Chicago, immediately after the KKK came to Perry and burn the black church , resulting in the loss of black lives and total destruction of the church. Dozens of my father's relatives departed for the safety of their families. The riot occurred after a young white teacher was raped and murdered by two blacks ... They were captured a few days later and the individual accused of the rape was taken from the jail and hung by the mob. Now get this I was told by our Houston relative, the person I referred to in the Houstons story earlier this evening, the minister of the church was one of Speed relatives and the rapist was another one of our Speed cousins. I have been unable to authenticate any of Mr Houston's story except the finding of our folks in nearby Gulf County where he told me many had fled to. He also informed me of many of our kinsfolk changing their names and moving to Escambia and Jackson County, FL. The white citizens & KKK riot in Perry occurred I believe in 1920/1921 a year or two before the infamous Rosewood Massacre. Rosewood is not to distant south of Perry. If anyone is interested in learning more about what took place in Perry, I can provide you with a reference or two. Meanwhile I will continue to validate and verify cousin Houston's stories ... He tells me as a child his grandmother carried him around Florida visiting many of our various ancestors/relatives.