Lynching history spurs call for closure, 90 years later

For decades, Nina Denson-Rogers has tried to piece together the story of two gruesome days in 1924 when a mob of white people lynched two black teens and dragged their bullet-riddled bodies through Fort Myers.

The historian for the Lee County Black History Society found few willing to talk. Those who did divulged details that drew tears to the historian's eyes last week as she sat in the society's office near the city museum it runs.

On May 25, it will be 90 years since the ugly chapter in county history was written. R.J. Johnson and Milton Wilson are the only recorded lynching victims in Lee County, Florida. Over the years, their names have been reported differently, though a local scholar has evidence Milton's last name was Williams.