One high school graduate is making history before heading to college in the fall by being the first ever recipient honoring a member of a historic civil rights case.

Rep. Geraldine Thompson introduce HB 1133 this past Monday in hopes to further heal Groveland community.

A judge has approved a series of motions that cleared the names of Lake County's Groveland Four, a group of young African American men wrongfully convicted of rape in 1949.

The families of the Groveland Four speak.

A local prosecutor has filed a motion to clear the names of four African American men who were wrongly accused of raping a white woman more than seven decades ago.

A state attorney is still fighting to exonerate Lake County’s Groveland Four, a group of men wrongfully convicted of rape in 1949.

The Groveland Four memorial was unveiled Friday in Lake CountyIf you need help with the Public File, call 407-291-6000.

TAVARES, Fla. – The Groveland Four memorial was unveiled Friday in Lake County. Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Ernest Thomas and Samuel Shepherd were wrongly accused of raping a white woman in Lake County in 1949. The Lake County men were accused under dubious circumstances. Ron DeSantis pardoned the men, and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners began planning the idea for a memorial. The granite memorial, posted in front of the Lake County Historical Museum, features a bronze plaque with a written account of the men’s ordeal.

Mabel Norris Reese exposed truth about Groveland FourPublished: January 14, 2020, 9:40 amIt was a case that made headlines and one that highlighted reporter Mabel Norris Reese.

It was a case that made headlines and one that highlighted reporter Mabel Norris Reese. She was the owner, editor, reporter for the Mount Dora Topic newspaper in the 1940s up until around 1960,” said Gary McKechnie, founder of the Mabel Norris Reese Fund in Mount Dora. McKechnie, in collaboration with artist Jim McNalis, recently unveiled a clay sculpture to honor the life of the journalist. “She was taking her leads from the sheriff, sheriff Willis McCall and she’s believing everything he’s telling her,” McKechnie said. For donations and to learn more about the story of Mabel Norris Reese, click here.

Florida lawmakers push to have Groveland Four exoneratedPublished: December 10, 2019, 6:18 pmFlorida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Florida lawmakers will renew their effort Tuesday to exonerate four men, known as the Groveland Four, who were wrongfully convicted of rape in 1949 in Lake County.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Florida lawmakers will renew their effort Tuesday to exonerate four men, known as the Groveland Four, who were wrongfully convicted of rape in 1949 in Lake County. Last year, the Florida Clemency Board posthumously pardoned Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Walter Irvin. “Pardons were a major step forward, and the Greenlee family is very grateful to the Cabinet members for their actions earlier this year,” said Carol Greenlee, the daughter of Charles Greenlee. Thompson announced Tuesday she would push for a joint House-Senate resolution, to exonerate the men and ensure that the state officially recognizes their innocence. “I was proud to stand with my cabinet colleagues to issue a pardon of the Groveland Four — but more action is needed.