READ ABOUT USF ANTHRHOPOLOGISTS  & UNMARKED  DOZIER GRAVES  AT THE MARIANNA REFORM SCHOOL (FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS) IN THE MEDIA - ANYTHING ON THIS TOPIC IS ON 1 PAGE, JUST CLICK HERE .  IF YOU WANT TO  READ * OTHER * NEWS ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE OR THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS, THEN CLICK HERE.   CLICK HERE  FOR VIDEOS ABOUT THE GRAVES, AND CLICK HERE  FOR ALL OTHER VIDEOS ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS. SEE ALSO THE MENU BUTTONS AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS.  THIS SITE IS UPDATED WHENEVER THERE IS ANY NEWS TO CONVEY OR NEW INFORMATION IN THE MEDIA. SEE ALSO "QUICK REFERENCES" BELOW FOR LINKS TO IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
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DOZIER (As seen in JC Floridian / Jacksonville.com)
Texas resident Judy Weese straightens one of the signs that she and husband Sam Weese placed, along with some flowers, against the exterior fence at Dozier School for Boys last Saturday. Mr. Weese said he lived at Dozier for 2 to 3 years as a teenager. He said he decided to come to Dozier and leave the signs and flowers as a message to decision-makers while he was visiting relatives in Florida last week. He said he put the materials there to encourage the state to continue its quest to exhume the remains of the boys who were buried at Dozier decades ago and to have them re-interred at locations of their families’ choosing. “I’m trying to say, let them go home,” he explained Thursday. Now 66 years of age, Weese said he was sent to Dozier while living in South Florida at the age of 14 or 15. A participant in a Dozier-related lawsuit, Weese said he could not elaborate further at this time on his experiences at Dozier.

             ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PASS THIS ON PLEASE!
Michael Conner from Facebook

We'll write more about the reunion later, as right now we are trying to keep up with the breaking news stories on TV and in newspapers.  But, in the meantime, we just wanted to let you know that a good time was had by all.  CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY.  Many thanks to all who contributed, and particular to the head of the reunion committe, Babbs Cooper, who worked for months to make it all happen.  We were pleased to meet some folks for the first time, and enjoyed seeing old friends.  Two of the original 4 White House Boys - Dick Colon and Roger Kiser were in attendence.  We also honored White House Boys who have passed away with a very touching bell-ringing ceremony.  The best part of the day was when the announcement came in that the sale of the Dozier School property had been halted to allow for the USF staff to further their work (see news stories on left).

Mary Brodnax has her photos on YouTube:  Click this link to view. Thank you, Mary!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4YDTDLG360&feature=youtu.be

IN THE NEWS! 
USF STAFF USING GROUND PENETRATING RADAR TO UNCOVER GRAVES AT DOZIER!!!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS!

NOTE TO EVERYONE!  There are updates on many of the pages being added almost daily! ... Please be sure to look around the site, by clicking the tabs at the top of the page!  We try to highlight dates in yellow, so you can see when something was added. 
      This is YOUR website! Don't forget to send your story to: theofficialwhitehouseboys@gmail.com for the MEN's STORIES sections and read the ones that are already there --  (the latest is from Johann Wagener (John Wagner) and it is a great addition to this site, so many thanks to John for sharing!  You should also keep up with the PRAYER AND PRAISE page to see how your brothers and their families are doing (Pastor Marx wife has published a self help book and this is on that page as well). Please don't forget the LETTERS page and stop by the GUESTBOOK and read the comments or leave one.  This is where many of the folks new to the White House Boys first contact us, so why not welcome some of the new members there?  Perhaps most importantly... the CEMETARIES PAGE is being constantly updated with new articles, so be sure to keep up with that one also.

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TWO MORE ARTICLES AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT IN MADMIKESAMERICA....   CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ARTICLES ON MAD MIKES AMERICA ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS. MIKE HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB OF COVERING YOUR STRUGGLES.  MANY THANKS TO THESE FOLKS FOR HELPING TO SPREAD THE WORD!


CLICK ON THE NAMES OF THE  ARTICLES BELOW IN ORDER TO READ THEM IN FULL...


"The White House Boys: How many witnesses do they need"

"For Their Own Good - White House Boys Video"

"Did Florida Justice Fail Kevin Wood?"

"The Story of William Haynes-a White House Boy" 

"The Terrible Tale of the Arthur C. Dozier School and The White House Boys - "4-23-12 -

All Articles above are as featured in: 

MADMIKESAMERICA





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THE HORRORS OF THE WHITE HOUSE MOVIE

READ ABOUT THIS MOVIE IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN BEFORE WATCHING, AND PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM!

Federal investigation confirms abuse at Dozier, suggests children in danger at other facilities
By Ben Montgomery, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times
In Print: Saturday, December 3, 2011

The U.S. Department of Justice has blasted the state for failing to properly treat and protect children who were housed at the now-shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, Florida's first and oldest state-run reform school that closed in June after 111 years of operation.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice's failure to oversee the program and prevent children from being abused and neglected suggests other programs have similar issues, according to the report by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, released late Friday.

"Although Dozier and JJOC (the Jackson Juvenile Offender Center on Dozier's campus) are now shuttered, these problems persist due to the weaknesses in the state's oversight system and from a correspondent lack of training and supervision," the report said. "Our findings remain relevant to the conditions of confinement for the youth confined in Florida's remaining juvenile justice facilities."

The Justice Department's investigation, announced in 2010 to then-Gov. Charlie Crist, showed "reasonable cause to believe that the state of Florida was engaged in a pattern or practice of failing to have proper measures of accountability that led to serious deficiencies."

The Justice Department alleged many instances in which the state violated the constitutional rights of the boys, ages 13 to 21, confined to Dozier, and said the state must take immediate measures to "assess the full extent of its failed oversight" to protect children at its other facilities. The state must also strengthen its oversight processes by implementing a more rigorous system of hiring, training and accountability, the report said.

DJJ spokesman C.J. Drake said Florida has already implemented a number of reforms and has seen a dramatic reduction in the use of physical techniques to control children. He also said the state has closed or substantially reduced 23 residential programs statewide since 2008 because of performance issues.

"That's because we proactively identify problems in our residential programs and take swift corrective action," Drake said. "Residential programs that cannot implement and sustain corrective actions are closed."

DJJ Secretary Wansley Walters, who took over the department in January, was not available to comment on the report, Drake said.

The Department of Justice found:

• Staff used excessive force on youths, including choking and mechanical restraints. It documented incidents caught on tape in which guards violently pushed youths to the ground, and struck and choked youths. Staff unlawfully shackled youths with mechanical restraints as a first response to youths who did not respond to verbal commands. One youth was held face-down on the floor for 48 minutes and placed in mechanical restrains for an additional three hours and 17 minutes.

• Youths were often disciplined for minor infractions through inappropriate uses of lengthy and unnecessary isolation without due process. The report documented one case in which a boy was kept in isolation — inside a small cell with a concrete-slab bed and thin mattress — for two weeks. And shortly after he was released, he was sent back to isolation.

• Staff were not appropriately trained and had a generally "laissez-faire attitude" toward suicidal youth. The report noted that average pay for direct-care staff fell below $12 an hour, well below the nationwide median hourly wage for correctional officers of $18.78.

• The safety of youths was compromised as a result of their relocation to the Jackson Juvenile Offender Center (a more restrictive and punitive facility on the Dozier campus).

• The state failed to provide necessary and appropriate rehabilitative services to address addiction, mental health or behavioral needs, which served as a barrier to the youths' ability to return to the community and not reoffend.

• Youths were subjected to unnecessary and unconstitutional frisk searches. Dozier youths were frisk searched more than 10 times per day. One told investigators, "Some staff rub on your privates." Another said staff "touch too much."

"The failure to address these concerns not only harms the youth, but has a negative impact on public confidence and public safety," the report said. "The critical role of the juvenile justice system to correct and rehabilitate is being abdicated and youth may well be leaving the system with additional physical and psychological barriers to success."

The Dozier school in Marianna, about 60 miles west of Tallahassee, has been the subject of an ongoing investigative series in the St. Petersburg Times called "For Their Own Good." The facility has been exposed a number of times for abuse and neglect. The Department of Justice's investigation confirms much of what the Times has reported.

"What the Department of Justice has done in this report is help us look back at what was and gives us a true guide for what should never, ever happen again," said child advocate Jack Levine, who exposed abuse at Dozier in the early 1980s that prompted a federal class-action lawsuit against the state.

Drake, the DJJ spokesman, said the department is working on a response to the report.

"The issues at Dozier occurred long before this administration took office and it was this administration that closed that facility," he said. "We … do not tolerate misconduct or poor performance. If we identify it we seek to correct it, and if it's not corrected it's closed."

Times staff writer Waveney Ann Moore contributed to this report. Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8650.

SALUTE TO OUR VETERANS!
Many White House Boys went on to serve our country in the military.  Launched on Veteran's Day, 2010, we've created a page dedicated to ALL those who so bravely served our country.  Please take a moment to look at the new page HERE.  If you or one of your family members are a veteran, its not too late to send your story and photos.  Please send to mailto:theofficialwhitehouseboys@gmail.com 
GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

ARE YOU RECEIVING THE NEWSLETTER?  EMAIL/NEWSLETTER REMINDER!  To be sure that you receive all emails and newsletters, please be sure to add the following email address:  theofficialwhitehouseboys@gmail.com , to the list of "contacts" on your email program.  Otherwise, there is a chance that the emails and newsletters we send can end up in your "spam" or "junk mail" file folders.  If your email program "recognizes" the email address, then newsletters will go straight to your INBOX, and won't end up lost in with thousands of JUNK emails. 

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Many of the White House Boys have written BOOKS, click HERE for info

WHITE HOUSE BOYS IN THE NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010:

The Boys of the Dark: Robin Gaby Fisher & Michael O'McCarthy




A story that garnered national attention, this is the harrowing tale of two men who suffered abuses at a reform school in Florida in the 1950s and 60s, and who banded together fifty years later to confront their attackers.Michael Orsquo;McCarthy and Robert W. Straley were teens when they were termed ldquo;incorrigible youthrdquo; by authorities and ordered to attend the Florida School for Boys. They discovered in Marianna, the ldquo;City of Southern Charm,rdquo; an immaculately groomed campus that looked more like an idyllic university than a reform school. But hidden behind the gates of the Florida School for Boys was a hell unlike any they could have imagined. The schoolrsquo;s guards and administrators acted as their jailers and tormentors. The boys allegedly bore witness to assault, rape, and possibly even murder.For fifty years, both men---and countless others like them---carried their torment in silence. But a series of unlikely events brought Orsquo;McCarthy, now a successful rights activist, and Straley together, and they became determined to expose the Florida School for Boys for what they believed it to be: a youth prison with a century-long history of abuse.  READ MORE ABOUT THE BOOK AND SEE ROBERT STRALEY INTERVIEWED BY FOX BY CLICKING HERE

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 Several WHBz have Facebook sites regarding the group.  Send us your Facebook sites, and we'll post them to share with everyone. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Note from Webmaster: 
Folks - Don't forget! This website belongs to YOU.  The webmaster is only the one to set it up and do the technical "stuff" but sending in interesting and newsworthy items is your job!   This website needs input from everyone!  Also, Please don't forget to use the GUESTBOOK often. If you find a news story, send it in. (I don't always have the time to scour the internet looking for stories but I'll gladly post any I'm aware of).  Why not send a recipe, news about an event in your life such as a wedding or a baby's birth, or send a photo of you or family?  We've printed comments in memory of Frank Marx, and gave them to Peggy at the Memorial Service on August 21st.    Keep us updated on any illness or challenges or Praise Reports for the new Prayer Requests & Updates  page.  The webmaster is STILL  waiting for a summary of the last reunion which we could not attend, due to family illness.  This website belongs to YOU, and its up to YOU to help keep it current.    In the next few months, I'll be adding MANY more Yellow Jacket photos, but that's just my little contribution to the website.  Please do your part to keep the website current, and interesting.    p.s. If you haven't tried the questbook , it is VERY easy to use, all you need is a name and an email address.  You can even post anonymously if you wish.  Why not give it a try and say hello to your WHB brothers and families?
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OUR MISSION STATEMENT
A Project Dedicated to the Survivors of the White House

We are the faces of 108 years of state sponsored child abue.

“Those who do not learn the lessons of history are bound to repeat them.” Santayana

The state of Florida has one of the worst records for juvenile care in the United States. The negligence on the part of the Department of Juvenile Justice continues to this day: Underfunded, poorly trained and screened staff, overcrowding and the lack of a progressive system of care, treatment and skill training produces a recidivist rate “…for males … 46 percent and for females it is 28 percent.” (Florida Performs.com.) That includes boys and girls returning to the system for “more of the same,” or “graduating” to adult correctional institutions.

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee…” John Donne

We are more than “our brother’s keepers.” We are the guardians of the health and welfare of any child in our neighborhood, town, city, county and state. The children are our heritage and our future. When one is mistreated, it affects an entire society. We must stand for justice now; on their behalf and ours.

Where are we now?

As is any democratic movement for justice, it takes time and requires patience and diligence. It requires of us to exhaust every available institutional remedy so when and if we reach the point of a negative response from the powers that be, we are able to demonstrate to the citizenry that we have been reasonable and met with unreasoned response. When we have exhausted that democratic course and we must seek alternate methods in our pursuit of justice.

With the “abeyance” of the Claims Bill in the Florida legislature we have reached one of those negative responses to our call for justice. If and when we enliven the Claims Bill we will officially state our grievances, provide the proof of the wrong done to us and our kind and hold the state government responsible for our reparations while at the same time educating the voting people of the state of Florida, especially that of our class of people, of the consequences of this system of injustice levied upon us and now upon the current class.

We have now entered the first course with our class actions suit in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, State of Florida, Civil Division. Should our case fail there we have the option to continue with appeals into the appellate courts and the federal courts. That process is fraught with years of delay; not a healthy outlook for the aging “White House Boys.” And frankly, our case is not likely to overcome the barriers of Statute of Limitations which require a court to rule that the damage done was so severe as to demand that the statute be set aside in pursuit of justice or Sovereign Immunity (King’s Law stipulating that you could not sue the King (the state) for the wrongs it has done you.”) That too requires a judgment that the harm is of such magnitude that it overrides the King’s protection; in this case its defense of its minion, Tidwell it has thrown the cloak of the king over him.
Frankly, we will never receive justice if we are unwilling to work for it. We will never receive justice if it is we who stand alone. We can only achieve justice if the people of the State of Florida rally to our cause and demand redress and reparations be ordered by the legislature and signed into law by the governor. This process is as old as the call for political and social justice and it requires conscious raising, organizing and the means to bring the voice of the people to the powers that be. What follows is a tried and true democratic method to achieve just that.

Getting here.

We have had our differences in getting here. Some were where we allowed personality issues to override principles, some of the differences were of a strategic nature and we bear the error. Much of the personal pain that effected those decisions came from the irrevocable lash marks and sexual defilement and their pain consequences and more reflected damage done us.

But it is time to let the past be the past for there is one common factor that unites us: we were the throwaway kids of the State of Florida and victims of the infamous White House and dens like it at other Florida School for Boys and Girls.

The state treated us with inhumane measures, but we have survived.
We were the children who would be under the rule of DJJ today. Thus, we are in a unique situation to be of service to those who are like us. (For the accurate Time Line of how we became “the White House Boys” and the history of our campaign)

The social origins of the children who would become known as “The White House Boys” which includes all the boys and girls confined at the Florida Schools for Boys and Girls and the later designated prisons for juveniles:

Understanding the racial and economic backgrounds of The White House Boys, all those juveniles who suffered incarceration in the Florida Schools for Boys and Girls and under the rule of the Department of Juvenile Justice, tells us that kids from our class are that last of the last. We are the last to have stable homes; the last to have the benefit of emotional support for our growing years; we are the last to have adequate funds for food, clothing, lodging, adequate health care; last to have decent a decent education; the first to be drafted; the first to be casualties of war; the last to be adequately defended in court– we were then, the last to have a decent enough background for jobs; to be able to earn our way.

We were the first to be victims of our parent’s dysfunction, many of who were previous victims of the same social system into which we were born: drug addiction, alcoholism and spousal and child abuse. These were a matter of everyday life in our homes. Out of the dysfunction we exploded into the arms of the law enforcement and the courts. Rather than support, care and treatment; rather than having the benefit of adequate legal representation before a court, or psychological this abomination of life been revealed: in the true story realized intesting and then counseling or treatment, we were ship-loaded into the state system: whether it was first orphanages, (foster care homes,) or directly into state-wide institutions, we soon became the basis of a sub-class of Floridians whose most likely final destination was more confinement, more dysfunction and then more confinement until a good part of our lives had been wasted away.

The “career path” for our peers was meaningless jobs or the military. Very few of our class would every see the “American dream” realized. At best it would be working our lives away at menial jobs, labor or low management positions; living on high interest credit until a meager Social Security would allow us to die slowly, encumbered by age and illness. That was the forecast if we were lucky enough to evade life sentences in prison or mental institutions or death row.

Only a couple of times in Florida history have  Gideon’s Trumpet (Henry Fonda television movie,) and Chattahoochee, with Gary Oldman and Dennis Hopper. Those were the only portraits of the cruel and inhumane Florida system of corrections and mental health treatment for the world to see. Or recently in the cases of Anderson who was smothered to death in a boot camp or Caldwell who was hammered to the ground and gang beaten at Dozier have we seen how this system continues its role as the grim reaper of the children of Florida’s dysfunctional poor, working and destitute classes.

The White House Boys cause is larger than the recognition of our pain and suffering; more important than an apology from the temporary
politician living in the Governor’s mansion; more significant than any reparations given us. Our cause is to bring light where there has been none and is to this day the dark shadows in which the state best operates. To reveal a social and economic system so inherently corrosive that it eats away the lives of millions of people by either jailing them or holding them in submission to the profit of the state until old age or death takes them.

The political course of action — What Must Be Done:

First each of us must prepare then send out our story to our respective websites, www.officialwhitehouseboys.com and www.theofficialwhitehouseboys.com , then to everyone you know via email, directing them to our websites. Build an E-Mail and phone tree: you will have five non-White House Boys to email and/or phone when there is significant news or an event that requires attention. Each of those five will know five more, and so on and so on.

Second, we must ask those to pass it on to everyone they know, and so on and so on.

Third, arrange for speakers for events at your church or social organization to explain who the White House Boys are and what we are about. A speaker’s committee and a information committee (to provide both print and electronic information on the White House Boys,) must be elected with volunteers to serve.

Fourth, each of us must write emails or hard mail to, and then telephone the offices of, your state elected officials telling our stories and demanding that the State of Florida take the necessary measures to “make us and our families whole” for the damage done to us and our peers.

Fifth, we must reach out to the religious institutions in our  community and ask that they join with us in pursuit of justice for ourselves and our families, and extend a watchful eye over and a call for mercy for those behind the wires of DJJ.

Sixth, because we chose this course we must exhaust the state and, where applicable the federal court remedies – while simultaneously supporting the forthcoming Claims Bill which will cause legislation to be passed giving us reparations and putting into law those reforms necessary to see that the state of Florida will “Never, Ever Again” abuse its most vulnerable children but rather, lock into place budgetary and legislative guarantees that those children placed in the State’s care receive the education, psychological and physical care that will better their lives and give them an equal opportunity to be socially successful.

Lastly, we must prepare to follow in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. who taught us that those in power only respond to more political power and that peaceful, nonviolent protest is constitutionally guaranteed and is a righteous process for letting those in power know they may be not long in power should they not join us in our just cause.

READ PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS, INCLUDING THE ONE WITH REUNION INFO, BY CLICKING HERE  

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WHITE HOUSE BOYS MOVIE TRAILER IS BELOW

=====================

JULY, 2011 - PICNIC AT FORT DESOTO PARK, SARASOTA, FL -  PHOTO ALBUM BELOW
ALL PHOTOS ARE "CLICK TO ENLARGE"
TURN PAGES BY CLICKING ON THE NUMBERS BELOW

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WHITE HOUSE BOYS PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT on 1-8-13 BY EDMUND FOUNTAIN OF TAMPABAY TIMES -  CLICK HERE FOR INFO! --                   ----------------------------------------
To go straight to News about the USF INVESTIGATION into Dozier
Reform School (Florida School for Boys, Marianna, Florida) unmarked Graves, click HERE-
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Read about our Christmas Project for the boys at Eckerd's Youth Academy...CLICK HERE.
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Our White House Boys Flag has been traveling to memorial services, thanks to Sargeant at Arms, Jim DeNyke "Harley". Read More HERE.
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We have a new addition to "Men's Stories", to read, CLICK HERE.
           -----------------------------------------
BREAKING NEWS!

Bill Nelson, Senator, Wants Feds To Probe Florida Reform SchoolMARIANNA, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson wants the Justice Department to join an expanded search for graves and possible evidence of crimes at a defunct reform school in the Florida Panhandle. The Florida Democrat on Wednesday made the request in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

University of South Florida anthropologists on Monday released a report indicating they had documented the deaths of two staffers and 96 children at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

The anthropologists believe additional research will turn up more gravesites.

READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC, CLICK HERE
    --------------------------

LETTER TO THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS

I am asking you to not discuss or answer any questions concerning any views on your legal positions what so ever if you are put into that position period!!!! It could be very damaging to you or the other men to do so. The reason"s are apparent and please do not ask why!!!

There is an on going radio show that started this last Wed. And will continue every Wed. Night at 9 P.M. For no telling how long." REMEMBER" anywhere and anybody could be listing to what you say at any time!!!

I invite you to join in on this show but try and stick to the abuse that was done to you at this institution and at OKEECHOBEE.
 I really need more than any thing for the black men to get involved in this radio show for good reason!!! I also hope that any relatives or wives or the public will call in!!!
The host of this show I respect very much!!!!
Dick Colon / Jerry Cooper
President " White House Boys"
              -------------------------------
URGENT MESSAGE FROM JERRY COOPER AND DICK COLON TO ALL WHITE HOUSE BOYS - PLEASE READ!!!
I first would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We need to address some issues which are now happening within the White House Boys. 
 

Since there has been news that has gone public regarding Senator Bill Nelson, Commissioner Putnam and the US Justice Department, and the University of South Florida, some of the men have taken it into their own hands to address these officials concerning White House Boys issues.

We urge you to please NOT contact any of these officials regarding White House Boys issues. If there are any issues that you feel should be brought to attention at this time, please contact me Jerry Cooper (239-542-3831) or Robert Straley (727–447-4441). 
 

In a conversation that I had with President, Dick Colon today, we agree that all the men need to leave the professionals involved,...including the legal team...alone to do their jobs (which they are quite capable of ) and that the White House Boys need to just be patient and wait and see what happens. Of course, if you have NEW information, please be sure to contact Jerry or Robert at the numbers above.  
 

As you all know, Senator Nelson has sent a request for the US Justice Department to please assist USF in their investigation as early as January, but please understand, it does not mean that Attorney General Holder has agreed to get involved, or not, for one reason or another – it was ONLY a request. We need to leave it at that! We have not yet even heard their reply as to whether or not they will get involved.

Again, we care about all of you, but at this time we just need to let the professionals do their work. As we learn of any news or actions that have been taken by the Legal Team, we will advise you. Please do not contact the Legal Team directly, because as you must know, they have their hands full.

Dick Colon, President of the Official White House Boys Organization

by, Jerry Cooper, Acting President of the Official White House Boys Organization

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IF YOU NEED YOUR RECORDS FROM YOUR STAY AT FSB OR OKEECHOBEE, FROM THE 1950s or 1960s, CLICK HERE
----------------------------------------------------------------------

URGENT ATTENTION!
If any man was at Marianna Florida School for Boys in 1962 or 1963 and knew Wayne Tillis or Eddie Tillis, please contact Ben Montgomery of the St. Petersburg Times / Tampa Bay Times IMMEDIATELY with any information you may have. Or, call Jerry Cooper at 239-542-3831.  This is VERY IMPORTANT!!!


             ------------------------------
Florida's Dozier School For Boys: A True Horror Story on NPR (National Public Radio) 10-15-12 CLICK HERE

WHITE HOUSE BOYS IN THE NEWS OCT 12 AT 6:51PM -- READ THE ST PETE TIMES AND MIAMI HERALD STORIES BELOW OR CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE NEWS REGARDING DOZIER GRAVES

Researchers find more graves at Dozier than state said existed
By Ben Montgomery and Waveney Ann Moore,
Times Staff Writers
Tampa Bay Times Posted: Oct 11, 2012 06:51 PM  

For years, Richard Varnadoe has longed to know where the state buried his brother, Thomas, who died at 13, as a ward of Florida's oldest reform school in the Panhandle town of Marianna.

"I feel an obligation that the truth has to come out, what happened to him," said Varnadoe, 83. "I am the last hope . . . I'm the last sibling."

New evidence unearthed by researchers at the University of South Florida may shed light on where Thomas and dozens of other boys who died in state custody are buried. The team has identified at least 49 graves in and near the notorious school's known cemetery, north of the campus. That's 18 more than the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found during a 2009 investigation.

Researchers have also found "sufficient evidence" to conclude there's likely another clandestine cemetery on school property, in a patch of woods on the south side of campus, which had been reserved for white students during segregation.

Led by Erin Kimmerle, associate professor of anthropology at USF, the researchers petitioned the state to use ground penetrating radar to try to find the second cemetery and determine how many graves it contained. But the state denied the petition in August because it intended to sell 220 acres of the land at public auction. The school closed in 2011, after 111 years of operation.

The Department of Juvenile Justice reversed its ruling Thursday afternoon, a day after Thomas Varnadoe's nephew, Glen Varnadoe, filed a lawsuit to put a stop to the sale.

"After careful consideration, we will work with the researchers on how best to provide them access to the site," said DJJ Secretary Wansley Walters.

"It sounds very encouraging," said Glen Varnadoe. "I think if they let Dr. Kimmerle and her staff do the research on the ground, they will find what we're looking for."

Kimmerle suspected there was a second cemetery on the property when her team discovered no segregation between graves at the known cemetery, called Boot Hill. Until 1968, it was customary for cemeteries to have defined separate areas for the remains of whites and blacks.

Former wards of the state, and family members of those who died in custody, also told researchers they had seen a cemetery on the south side of campus. Among them was Ovell Krell, a former Lakeland police officer, who suspects her brother was killed by guards in 1940.

Krell said her family drove to Marianna to investigate her brother's reported disappearance from the school. By the time they arrived, they were shown a pile of dirt in a cemetery south of campus, which the superintendent identified as her brother's grave.

Researchers John Powell and Richard Weltz also matched an aerial photograph of a cemetery from a Jackson County historian to a spot on the south campus.

"It's too much evidence from too many sources to say it's nothing," Kimmerle said.

Since 2008, former wards, mostly from the 1950s and '60s, have spoken publicly about being abused at the school. Hundreds told of being hit with a leather strap until they bled in a small building called the White House. Some have reported that bunk-mates were taken to the White House for punishment and never returned.

Former Gov. Charlie Christ ordered an investigation in 2009 after news spread of a cemetery in a small clearing in the woods dotted by 31 white metal crosses. Relying heavily on the school's own records, FDLE determined that at least 81 boys died in custody, and that 29 boys and two men were buried at the cemetery.

USF's Kimmerle, along with archaeologist Richard Estabrook and a team of students, used ground-penetrating radar and other "ground truthing" techniques and determined that the actual cemetery extended 20 meters north of the marked site, into a heavily wooded area. And they found a minimum of 49 graves, which Kimmerle called a "conservative estimate."

"That's a minimum number," she said. "These are the ones that we are confident saying these are grave shafts."

Kimmerle said it's also possible that some graves may contain more than one child.

"This is the worst case of child abuse in American history," said Robert Straley, of Clearwater, who was abused at the school when he was 13. "They have an obligation to make that into a real cemetery, where the relatives of boys would be allowed to go in there and pay their respect and they should build a monument to all the boys who died and were never identified."

The Varnadoes hope someday to identify Thomas' remains, and to have them disinterred and reburied at the family's plot in Brooksville, beside his mother.

"Our interest in this is a 13-year-old child that never got to come home to his mother," Glen Varnadoe said. "Our interest is in bringing this child home so he can spend the rest of eternity with his family."

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8650. Waveney Ann Moore can be reached at wmoore@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2283.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted on Thu, Oct. 11, 2012
MIAMI HERALD

Unmarked graves of notorious youth prison snag sale by Florida DJJ
By Carol Marbin Miller
cmarbin@MiamiHerald.com
 
The Dozier School for Boys in Marianna had a history rife with abuse. As recently as 2004, a boy had his head smashed on concrete by a guard. For decades in the middle of the 20th century, boys were beaten by guards with a heavy leather paddle. Former Dozier School for Boys (then called Florida School for Boys) inmate Dick Colon is shown holding a replica of the leather paddle. In 1983, the ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit claiming kids were hogtied and left in isolation for extended periods. Four years later plans were announced to overhaul the juvenile justice system, but those at Dozier at that time say those reforms never happened. The grounds of Florida’s most notorious youth prison, a century-old Panhandle reform school, are now a 220-acre money pit that costs more to maintain than the property may be worth. Youth corrections administrators had circled Oct. 15 as the date they could finally unload the place, and its many ghosts.

But the sale of the controversial Dozier School for Boys hit an unexpected snag Thursday as the brother and nephew of a 13-year-old boy who died there in 1934 filed suit in Tallahassee, asking a judge to stop the sale so that family members can find the child’s now-hidden grave.

The lawsuit is the latest chapter in a decades-long saga involving scores of now-grown men from throughout the state who say they were raped or mercilessly beaten or both at the Marianna campus. The “White House Boys” — as some of the men have dubbed themselves after the squat white-washed cottage where they were whipped sometimes 100 times or more — have spawned at least two books and a movement to extract some type of compensation from the Florida Legislature.

Glen Varnadoe is not one of the White House Boys. He says he is a 63-year-old man who just wants to return his uncle’s remains to a family graveyard in Marion County, where they belong.
“He was a 13-year-old kid, and he deserves, at some point, to be brought back home to his mother,” said Varnadoe, who lives in Lakeland. “All this case is about is bringing a 13-year-old home and burying him with the rest of the family.”

Varnadoe and his uncle, Joseph R. Varnadoe, will appear before a Leon Circuit Court judge at 3 p.m. Friday in an effort to stop the sale of the Dozier property.
Late Thursday, the Department of Juvenile Justice’s chief, Wansley Walters, said her agency will reconsider the state’s decision to close off the campus from researchers and family members seeking to locate the graves of children who died there.

“As secretary of the [DJJ], I am profoundly aware of the historical significance of the North Florida Youth Development Center [NFYDC], formerly the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys,” Walters said. “One of the decisions I am most proud of is that this administration closed NFYDC in 2011. After careful consideration, we will work with the researchers on how best to provide them access to the site.”

For several months, a team of anthropologists from the University of South Florida has been scouring the boys’ school campus in search of what they believe to be the unmarked graves of an unknown number of children who died during Dozier’s more than 100 years of operation. In July, Erin Kimmerle, an anthropology professor, asked state land managers for permission to study a portion of the school, known as the South Campus, where state juvenile justice administrators operated a corrections center until last year. The South Campus originally contained cottages, schools and other facilities used exclusively by white children; African-American youth had been housed in a separate campus nearby.
The North Campus, where black children were housed, now contains several ramshackle cottages that — though largely falling apart — were frozen in time decades ago, with furniture, books and Bibles scattered as they were the day the campus was closed. It also holds a cemetery — called Boot Hill — with about 30 graves in neat rows loosely marked by spare crosses of white-washed PVC pipe.

Researchers and others believe white children who died at Dozier were buried somewhere on the South Campus, and they cite the conventions of the South in the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s as support for their beliefs. If the children were housed in different dormitories, ate in separate mess halls, played on segregated sports teams and studied in classrooms far apart — why would they have been buried together?

“It was the law of the land that there be separate facilities, and also the custom of the South that whites and blacks be buried separately,” said Robert S. Bolt, a Tampa lawyer who is representing the Varnadoes.
And court pleadings filed Thursday say researchers have interviewed townspeople, former inmates of the youth camp and relatives who say they either saw burial sites on the South Campus or were told about them by people who had.
Said Bolt: “There is plenty of good evidence that that’s where the white cemetery is.”

But in a letter last August, a head of the state Bureau of Public Land Administration, Victoria F. Thompson, denied Kimmerle’s request, “due to the upcoming surplus sale of this property and liability concerns.”

DJJ is spending $357,521 yearly to maintain the property, which is not expected to fetch more than that at sale.
Bids for the Dozier property, — described as “gently rolling, improved and wooded,” in a sale announcement — were to be opened next Monday. In their complaint, the Varnadoes say going forward with the sale will forever prevent them from retrieving the remains of Thomas Varnadoe, whose death certificate says he died on or about Oct. 26, 1934 of pneumonia.

Glen Varnadoe’s father, who died in 1973, was sent to Dozier, along with Thomas, when the two brothers were arrested in Hernando County on malicious trespassing charges, Glen Varnadoe said. A Dozier student newspaper reported that Thomas had been in poor health when he entered the youth prison, but family members long have disputed that claim. The “Yellow Jacket” newspaper also reported that Thomas was carried to his grave by fellow inmates who acted as pallbearers while a large contingent of staff members looked on solemnly.
Varnadoe said his father never discussed Thomas’ death, though he did insist that only he and a grave-digger attended the funeral. “At Thomas’ funeral, they dug a hole and they put him in,” he said.

If researchers can identify Thomas’ remains, Varnadoe said, he would like to place them “right beside the headstone of his mother.”
Varnadoe says he suspects some of the newer buildings on the South Campus likely were erected atop the bones of children who were unceremoniously deposited under the ground, as he says Thomas was. And he fears the boys, like his uncle Thomas, will remain there forever if DJJ is allowed to sell the site before the graves are located and preserved.

“To think he will spend an eternity buried under a parking lot somewhere is just a travesty,” Varnadoe said.

© 2012 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/11/v-print/3045869/unmarked-graves-of-notorious-youth.html#storylink=cpy

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW LASTEST NEWS ABOUT USF'S RESEARCH AT BOOTHILL CEMETARY

CLICK THE WORD "LISTEN" BELOW TO HEAR THE USF BROADCAST ON PUBLIC BROADCASTING REGARDING THE GRAVES AT DOZIER.(Florida School For Boys aka Florida Industrial School).  

 Listen  to the Radio Broadcast

NEWS FLASH! THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE PRINTED A STORY ON GLENN HESS AND THE DEPT OF CORRECTIONS COVER-UP!
Click Here to Read the Entire Story

The State Attorney’s Office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against ex-Jackson Correctional Institution warden Ted Jeter.
CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM JACKSON COUNTY FLORIDIAN

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 IMPORTANT!  PLEASE NOTE!  We have created a new page, in an effort to make it easy to find all the letters from all of you in one spot, so please check out the new page "LETTERS FROM WHBz". 

THERE ARE MANY NEWS ARTICLES FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.  CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL

Just In!  JUVENILE JUSTICE -
6 fired over teen’s death in lockup -CLICK HERE to read
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS FOR YOU TO READ (CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THE ONE YOU WANT TO SEE - THEY TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO LOAD) :
FLORIDA SENATE CLAIMS BILL SB46 (2012 FLORIDA DEPT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT (FDLE) INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARY REPORT ON UNMARKED GRAVES

FDLE INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARY REPORT ON ABUSE AT DOZIER

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LETTER TO FLORIDA'S GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT

FEDERAL DEPT OF JUSTICE INVESTIGATION OF DOZIER - DECEMBER, 2011  (.DOC)

FEDERAL DEPT OF JUSTIC INVESTIGATION OF DOZIER - DECEMBER, 2011 (.PDF)
ROBERT STRALEY'S REBUTTAL TO THE ORIGINAL FDLE REPORT

 Lets get the claims bill (SB46) passed!  Contact our government by phone, letter and email!
CONTACT OUR SENATORS! 

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/

CONTACT YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES!  http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx

To read the entire bill, click this link:

'White House Boy' claims startling find: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

UPDATE - MID-DECEMBER, 2011, IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT SOMEONE CLEARED LAND SO THAT THE CEMETARY CAN NOW BE SEEN FROM THE ROAD!  WHO DID THIS? WHY?

JERRY COOPER DISCOVERS ANOTHER CEMETARY AT FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR BOYS (DOZIER)  PROPERTY -- RIGHT NEAR ROOSEVELT  COTTAGE.   

IF JERRY COULD FIND IT, WHY DIDN'T THE F.D.L.E. WHEN THEY DID "THEIR" INVESTIGATION?

THE CEMETARY IS SURROUNDED BY CHAIN LINK FENCE AND IN DISREPAIR. SEE FOR YOURSELF! PHOTOS BELOW. MORE INFO WILL BE POSTED VERY SOON... KEEP WATCHING!

MANY THANKS TO JERRY COOPER FOR THIS CONTRIBUTION. HE HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO SEE THAT JUSTICE PREVAILS! THE PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND BELOW THIS ENTRY.  

(SEE ALSO 2 ST PETE TIMES ARTICLES AND ANOTHER BY A P.I. RELATING TO DEATHS/ GRAVES AT FSB/DOZIER  BY CLICKING THE BLUE UNDERLINED ITEMS  BELOW)

No surprises as FDLE identifies remains in graves at Florida School for Boys

- (May 15, 2009)

A COMMENDATION FOR NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK! (posted 4-22-12)

Here is the text of the letter received.  Below the text you can click on links to see the original letter and the certificate.

The first name in second chances (sm)
Eckerd
100 Starcrest Drive I Clearwater, Florida 33765
P (727) 461-2ee0 | F {727) 442-ss11
Eckerd.org

April 16,2O12

Mr. Jerry Cooper
5503 14th Pt
Cape Coral, FL 33914

Dear Mr. Cooper:

National Volunteer Week, April 15-2L,2012, celebrates people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation. ln the spirit of this national celebration, Eckerd would like to present you with the enclosed certificate of appreciation for the service you've offered to enrich the lives of children and provide them with much-needed second chances.

lf there is anything I can do to make your volunteer experience more rewarding, please feel free to contact me at any time at the number below or via email at volunteer@eckerd.orA.

It has been said that one's true calling is where your heart's greatest gladness meets the world's deepest need. We can think of no greater need than the need to strengthen America's families and help children succeed'..and we're so thankful for your support. We're looking forward to serving alongside you in the year to come.

Regards,

Kim Looby
Vice President of External Relations
727-461-1236 x 3305

READ LETTER HERE

SEE CERTIFICATE HERE

For weeks, the Christmas Committee has been hard at work gathering donations for the boys at Eckerds, and finally, with great joy, on Wednesday, we got to bring an abundance of gifts and goodies to 27 boys who reside at Eckerd Youth Alternatives outdoor residential program in Brooksville, Florida.

The day began with unloading FOUR vehicles FULL of presents, clothing, food, sports equipment and other treasures for the boys. While we were organizing the gifts, Lisa A., supervisor, called Jerry Cooper aside and asked if he would speak freely to a boy who was having trouble with authority. The boys mother was present, and told us she was at her wits end with this young man. He continued to violate the judge's orders, and had yet another appearance scheduled next week. She begged Jerry to make a difference in the young man's attitude. Jerry and the boy spoke at length, and he spoke bluntly about what it would mean for the young man to continue down the path he'd chosen. Many tears later, Lisa told us it may have been just what the boy needed.

After meeting with the staff and setting up the gifts, we met the rest of the boys for the first time in the “Chuck Wagon”, which is the cafeteria and meeting room at the camp. They filed in, a bit stand-offish, wondering who the strangers in the room were.

Next, Jerry Cooper was introduced to the boys, and as planned, he spoke to the them briefly about the horrors of the White House, and then turned his speech around 180 degrees giving them hope and encouragement for their future. He told them the military was a great “next step” for them, and how a good education is vital for their success. He talked about having goals, and how they didn't have to continue along the path they were on – the future was theirs if they changed their ways and “don't continue what you were doing before you got here”. He gave them a nice mix of advice ranging from what could happen to them if they continue their destructive behavior to all the possibilities they have if they respect authority and have goals and plans for their future and take the steps necessary to “make it happen”. The camp had invited a reporter from Hernando Today and the reporter listened intently to Jerry's chat with the boys as well. (see article at the end)

The talk wrapped up and gifts were distributed. Each boy received: 2 pairs of socks, a pack of 2 underwear (boxer briefs), a sweat shirt and sweat pants, pair of Wrangler Jeans, a jigsaw puzzle, a beanie buddie, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, Christmas Cards (one was stamped to mail to a loved one at home), a Zac Brown Hat, 10 skeins of embroidery thread and 2 packs of plastic lacing plus rings and clips for the keychains and bracelets they make from these, bag of fudge, candy and cookies, glow in the dark sticks and other glow in the dark novelties (these were a big hit, the boys used them IMMEDIATELY), and a Journal and Pen (which the boys all use).

In addition, we donated regulation size soccer goals to the camp, along with footballs, soccer balls and basketballs. We also donated lots of yarn, beads, and blank paper to the boys as well. In addition, each boy got a "gently worn" hooded sweatshirt, and we added shoes, shirts and shorts to their supply room.

Any excess presents (2 boys went home after we'd shopped) were donated to their “store” in which the boys are able to buy things with a small allowance they are given each month. The boys keep a checkbook of sorts and have to decide between their “wants” and “needs” – preparing them for budgeting their money in “real life”.

The best part of the day had to be watching the boys “ooh and aah” at the overflowing contents of their gift bags. Next, a young man in the program sheepishly came up to us and asked if we would like to join them at their lunch tables. We split up and each table was visited by a “White House Boy” and their partner and we got to know the boys and their history. Again, we encouraged them to turn from the things that put them in the program and have great goals for their life. Of note, was the relationship between the counselors and boys. It was quite obvious to us that the staff truly cares about these boys.

A tour of the camp was next, and we got to see how the boys live – they sleep in a “tent” which is a structure with a log pole at each corner, a tin roof, and a wooden surrounding that goes perhaps 3 feet off the ground. The upper part of each “wall” is open to the elements except for some netting. The boys build these structures themselves from the ground up, including finding the trees to use for the poles, and whittling them away until they are just right. It is a great exercise in math, construction and teamwork. We got to meet with the boys again, and got to know them on a more personal level. Emails and addresses were exchanged with those who asked, and these young men seemed truly appreciative that we cared about them.

In all, the day could not have gone better. Special thanks to those who made it all possible: Mike Sapp and Debbie Bergani, Roger Kiser, Robert Straley, Bill Haynes, Jerry & Babbs Cooper, Peggy Marx and Carl, Chuck & Karen Fedora, Richard Davis, Dick Colon, Ben Elder, Charlie Fudge, Roy Connerly, Bill and Judy Calgun, Richard and Nancy Barton, Howard and Lynn Post, Rev Nan, and Amy Bonano. Without your help, this day would not have been possible. You all gave generously from your heart, and I can't express how much you touched the lives of these young men!

CLICK HERE for Hernando Today Article about the event.

A Photo Gallery of the Joyous Event Follows....
All photos are "click to enlarge.  Feel free to copy, share, print, etc.  Enjoy!  There are many pages.  Use the numbers below the photos to turn pages.