Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys on + 115 more book reviews
"They was throwaways"
In a devoutly religious Ireland, babies and young girls were brutalized and discarded in the infamous Magdalene Laundries. In Canada and the United States, Indigenous children were brutalized and discarded by Indian Industrial Schools in the name of civilizing them: "kill the Indian, save the man." The book "We Carry Their Bones" reveals how young boys in Florida were imprisoned, beaten and discarded-- after all, "...they was throwaways."
What does it tell us when atrocities are allowed to run rampant for decades, and people who sincerely believe themselves to be morally sound have no problem looking the other way. No one ever seems aware of what is going on and it is a total surprise and shock when one day the bones in the graves start talking.
The stories surfacing about the Arthur G. Dozier Boys School included reported whipping, torture, sexual assault, and vague explanations for death. For over a century the school served as a reform school under various names, had recently closed under the cloud of these accusations, and there was an urgency by the people of Marianna, Florida to sell off the property as quickly and quietly as possible.
A number of haunted men emerged with allegations which had tormented them since their stay at Dozier. These men called themselves the White House Boys, named for the building where beatings were doled out. They were traumatized by memories of classmates disappearing, taken away, never returning. One man told of having to bury his own brother in an unmarked grave and having to remain at that school.
The author, forensic anthropologist Eric Kimmerle, details her battles attempting to get justice for these men and the families of boys whose bodies were never located. Her mission seemed simple enough-- identify and study the burial remains using sophisticated scientific techniques. She encountered threats and a tremendous amount of resistance from the community, people determined to keep the past sealed.
Particularly disturbing is the story about a fire in 1914 where seven boys were burned to death after being chained to their beds in isolation cells. Firefighters and spectators could only watch and listen to the screams as the building collapsed in flames. Later the remains were haphazardly mixed and buried in unmarked plots.
This utter disregard for human life is just flooring. Children were imprisoned as early as five years old for crimes such as smoking, skipping school, running away or merely being unwanted. Being poor was enough but being black was also a factor. Seventy percent of the boys buried were African American.
The question keeps looming-- how could a society ever allow this to happen? This was not the dark ages, the Spanish Inquisition, or diabolical Nazi monsters. This did not happen in some distant third world dictatorship where genocide is something we shake our heads at in a casual disbelief. This was a cruel disposal of children butchered because they were easy to ignore. One of the town's residents argued with the author "...they was throwaways..." Dehumanize a group and there is no empathy.
In moments like this, I understood what William Faulkner meant when he wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past-- from author Erin Kimmerle.
Could something like this ever happen again? We have come so far and would never do something as callous as, say... warehousing children in over-crowded holding cells.
Passages of human cruelty are always difficult to read, especially in a true crime account such as this. Portions of the book get a little bogged down in the science and technique of excavating, demonstrating how painstaking the process is. An important, eye-opening book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
In a devoutly religious Ireland, babies and young girls were brutalized and discarded in the infamous Magdalene Laundries. In Canada and the United States, Indigenous children were brutalized and discarded by Indian Industrial Schools in the name of civilizing them: "kill the Indian, save the man." The book "We Carry Their Bones" reveals how young boys in Florida were imprisoned, beaten and discarded-- after all, "...they was throwaways."
What does it tell us when atrocities are allowed to run rampant for decades, and people who sincerely believe themselves to be morally sound have no problem looking the other way. No one ever seems aware of what is going on and it is a total surprise and shock when one day the bones in the graves start talking.
The stories surfacing about the Arthur G. Dozier Boys School included reported whipping, torture, sexual assault, and vague explanations for death. For over a century the school served as a reform school under various names, had recently closed under the cloud of these accusations, and there was an urgency by the people of Marianna, Florida to sell off the property as quickly and quietly as possible.
A number of haunted men emerged with allegations which had tormented them since their stay at Dozier. These men called themselves the White House Boys, named for the building where beatings were doled out. They were traumatized by memories of classmates disappearing, taken away, never returning. One man told of having to bury his own brother in an unmarked grave and having to remain at that school.
The author, forensic anthropologist Eric Kimmerle, details her battles attempting to get justice for these men and the families of boys whose bodies were never located. Her mission seemed simple enough-- identify and study the burial remains using sophisticated scientific techniques. She encountered threats and a tremendous amount of resistance from the community, people determined to keep the past sealed.
Particularly disturbing is the story about a fire in 1914 where seven boys were burned to death after being chained to their beds in isolation cells. Firefighters and spectators could only watch and listen to the screams as the building collapsed in flames. Later the remains were haphazardly mixed and buried in unmarked plots.
This utter disregard for human life is just flooring. Children were imprisoned as early as five years old for crimes such as smoking, skipping school, running away or merely being unwanted. Being poor was enough but being black was also a factor. Seventy percent of the boys buried were African American.
The question keeps looming-- how could a society ever allow this to happen? This was not the dark ages, the Spanish Inquisition, or diabolical Nazi monsters. This did not happen in some distant third world dictatorship where genocide is something we shake our heads at in a casual disbelief. This was a cruel disposal of children butchered because they were easy to ignore. One of the town's residents argued with the author "...they was throwaways..." Dehumanize a group and there is no empathy.
In moments like this, I understood what William Faulkner meant when he wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past-- from author Erin Kimmerle.
Could something like this ever happen again? We have come so far and would never do something as callous as, say... warehousing children in over-crowded holding cells.
Passages of human cruelty are always difficult to read, especially in a true crime account such as this. Portions of the book get a little bogged down in the science and technique of excavating, demonstrating how painstaking the process is. An important, eye-opening book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
