PART II
By Mary Russ-Milligan
As I mentioned in an earlier article, my research into my own family history uncovered a link into the heritage of Rubin Stacy, a man who had been unjustly lynched in Fort Lauderdale in 1935.
I not only met several of his bloodline relatives, I was allowed to videotape several of my interviews of people who actually knew Rubin Stacy. People who knew him as an honest, hardworking family man. People who were heartbroken that Rubin has been depicted as a wandering, desperate vagrant for decades.
One of the people that I was fortunate enough to video was Rubin’s niece, Mrs. Irene Shaw Straughter. Although Mrs. Straughter passed away this past December, she was a young girl about seven years old when the incident happened in 1935.
I will always fondly remember the times I spent with Mrs. Irene as she shared her family history with me. She was sweet as a honey bee. Mrs. Irene was the matriarch of the family, but she was not the only one that I had the pleasure of meeting. I also met with Mrs. Irene’s daughters, Ruby Lightner and Sharon Scott and other family members. I am honored that they shared personal, treasured collections of photos. They also shared Family Reunion books and other documents containing information about Rubin Stacy and the family.
In their records, they traced Rubin’s family history back to his grandparents. Rubin was the grandson of a white man that was married to three women at the same time. Two of the women were black and the other was white. Captain Gilley fathered Rubin’s mother by one of his Black wives, Patsy Gilley.
As the grandson of bi-racial grand-parents, Rubin was very close to passing for white himself.
Since Mrs. Irene passed back in December, her daughter Ruby was elected by a group of family members to speak on behalf of her mother.
Like her mother, Ruby wants the truth to be told about her great uncle Rubin Stacey, especially from the perspective of his blood relatives.
“I lost my mother a few months after her interview with you,” Ruby told me. “I will continue to tell my mother’s story.”
Ruby came to Fort Lauderdale late last year, and I was able to introduce her to Commissioner Robert McKenzie. The meeting was videotaped. I shared a photo from the video in an earlier article. During the video Ruby talked about her views about past stories concerning the lynching of Rubin Stacy.
Ruby said she welcomed all family members with respect, love and dignity, but that much of the deep insight into the life of Rubin Stacy was being missed because the close bloodline relatives were not being heard.
She believes that the close bloodline relatives could help clarify the many misconceptions about Rubin Stacy. Ruby and her family would like to know the line of kinship of the people who are being featured in recent publications and events. There are already too many false narratives about Rubin Stacy, and the family members that she represents want to get to the truth.
Ruby also told me that her mother and many of the close family members are disappointed that Broward County was not doing more to release the original records regarding the Rubin Stacy case. They would like to see the records from the time of his arrest, while he was in custody, and his departure. There are a lot of speculations and unlikely narratives in newspapers and other publications, but where are the original records?
The family’s efforts to obtain these records have been fruitless in the past. This has always made them very skeptical about sharing information with politicians and reporters.
To the best of my abilities, and with the consent of the family members who have trusted me with their memories, I am going to present the family’s view of Rubin Stacy as a family man, a hard worker, and as a resident of Fort Lauderdale in Broward County. This is the promise I made to Mrs. Irene.
I will continue to share this perspective in future issues of the Westside Gazette, and in other works that are in progress.
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