Hundreds of survivors of physical and sexual abuse at two state-run reform schools in Florida are set to receive restitution from the state after lawmakers formally apologized for the horrors they endured more than 50 years ago. The Dozier School for Boys, at its peak in the Jim Crow era, housed 500 boys, most of whom were sent for minor offenses or were orphaned or abandoned children. Reports of brutal beatings, sexual assaults, deaths, and disappearances have been recounted by hundreds of men who attended the school in Marianna, Florida. Nearly 100 boys died at Dozier between 1900 and 1973, with some bodies being sent back home and others buried in unmarked graves that were only recently discovered.
In response to over 800 applications for restitution from survivors of abuse at the Dozier school and its sister school in Okeechobee, Florida, the state allocated $20 million to be equally divided among the victims. Bryant Middleton, a survivor who endured six beatings for minor infractions at Dozier in the late 1950s and early 1960s, shared his traumatic experience publicly in 2017. Middleton expressed that the abuse he suffered at the school was worse than his time serving in combat in Vietnam, highlighting the severity of the abuse and trauma experienced by the boys at Dozier.
Allegations of abuse at the Dozier school date back to its opening in 1900, with reports of children being chained to the walls and other inhumane treatment. When then-Governor Claude Kirk visited the school in 1968, he found the facility in disrepair with poor living conditions. Following state and federal investigations and news reports exposing the abuses, Dozier was finally closed in 2011. The resilience of the survivors of abuse at the school is being honored in the film “Nickel Boys”, based on Colson Whitehead’s novel inspired by Dozier. Whitehead aims to raise awareness of the victims’ stories and ensure they are not forgotten.
The state of Florida acknowledged the abuse endured by victims at the Dozier school and its sister school through a formal apology by lawmakers. Survivors like Bryant Middleton have spoken out about the brutality and horror they experienced, with Middleton comparing his time at the school to the traumas he faced in combat. The $20 million allocated for restitution aims to provide some form of justice and recognition for the survivors who endured abuse and trauma at the hands of school personnel. The closure of Dozier in 2011 marked the end of over a century of reported abuse and atrocities at the reform school.
The Dozier school’s dark history has been brought to light through the testimonies of survivors and investigations into the reported abuses. Florida officials took action to close the school in 2011 following public outrage and calls for justice. The resilience of the survivors is being celebrated and honored in the film “Nickel Boys”, which aims to shed light on the stories of those who suffered at Dozier. Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which inspired the film, serves as a reminder of the horrors that took place at Dozier and the importance of ensuring that the victims and their stories are not forgotten. The restitution provided by the state of Florida is a step towards acknowledging the past wrongs and providing some form of closure and recognition for the survivors of the abuse at the state-run reform schools.
