What in the World is a “Turpentine Negro?”
The Ku Klux Klan Considered it a Huge Slur
I recently wrote a story that included a letter from Flagler County, FL, Ku Klux Klan members to the Black community warning them not to vote in the 1920 election. Within the letter, the writer referred to Black people as “turpentine Negroes,” an expression I’d never heard before.
We will not stand for a bunch of turpentine Negroes to run the affairs of this county. You had better let well enough alone. You will not be allowed to stay in this county if you mess with this thing and you may have to be hauled out.
Naturally, I had to research “turpentine Negroes” to figure out what in the world the Klan was talking about. Knowing what they meant required context, including understanding the location and the era. Flagler County once hosted several sugar plantations, which ended after a conflict with Native Americans in the Second Seminole War in 1836.
Flagler County became official on April 28, 1917. The area already had some established towns, such as Bunell (the county seat), Dupont, Espanola, and Haw Creek. The area had several villages and lumber and turpentine camps. Most…
