Telling the story of Lee Bailey 130 years later
The local press covered the story of the lynching of Lee Bailey when it occurred in 1891. And local press and media outlets have covered the story of his remembrance ceremony and silent walk to honor him by Volusia Remembers Coalition in 2021, 130 years later.
The differences in reporting are stark. In 1891, Mr. Bailey’s murder was covered as if it was an acceptable act. In 2021, the emphasis is on the humanity of Mr. Bailey, the fact that he never had the opportunity for a fair trial, and the mission of the Volusia Remembers Coalition.
The Coalition is proud of this change. A core belief of the group is that it is only through confronting painful stories from our past that healing can occur.
Coalition member Daisy Grimes expressed her hopes in this way: “When we are doing these projects, we are actually saying, as members of Volusia Remembers, that we acknowledge that this happened. We acknowledge that it was wrong. We want to reconcile the misdeeds and the injustice given to Mr. Lee Bailey. And we want to heal. And to me, there is no healing unless there is reconciliation.”
Follow the links to read example of press coverage from 1891 and 2021.
This story appeared September 30, 1891 in the Florida Agriculturalist.
Reporting from 2021 can be found in the links below.
Stetson Today:
Daytona Times:
The Daytona Beach News-Journal:
News Daytona Beach WNDB 93.5 FM/1150 AM's February 2021 story:
News Daytona Beach WNDB 93.5 FM/1150 AM's September 2021 story:
https://newsdaytonabeach.com/stories/ceremony-set-for-saturday-to-honor-1891-lynching-victim,10448