Martin Tabert (1899 – February 2, 1922) was an early 20th Century American forced laborer. The circumstances of Tabert’s death – being a white man beaten to death by an overseer – caused a public reaction that resulted eventually in the end of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

’s longstanding

convict leasing Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; ...

system. Convict leasing was one of the forms of legalized

involuntary servitude Involuntary servitude or involuntary slavery is a legal and constitutional term for a person laboring against that person's will to benefit another, under some form of coercion, to which it may constitute slavery. While laboring to benefit another ...

common in the American south from the 1880s through the 1940s. Tabert was a 22-year-old man from

Munich, North Dakota Munich is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 190 at the 2020 census. The City was Named after Munich, Germany. History Munich was founded in 1904 and is named after Munich, Germany. Geography Munich is l ...

who was arrested in December 1921 as part of a police mass-arrest sweep, on a charge of '

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tem ...

', for being on a train without a ticket in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. Tabert was convicted and fined $25 (equivalent to about one week's wages). Although his parents sent $50 to pay the fine, plus $25 more so Tabert could afford transportation back home to North Dakota, their money disappeared in the Leon County prison system, where Sheriff James Robert Jones earned $20 for each prisoner he leased out as cheap labor to local businesses. The sheriff sent Tabert to work at the Putnam Lumber Company in Clara, Florida, approximately south of Tallahassee in

Dixie County Dixie County is a county located in the Big Bend region of the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,759. Its county seat is Cross City. History Dixie County was created in 1921 from the sou ...

. In January 1922 Tabert was whipped with a leather strap by supervisor (aka "whipping boss") Thomas Walter Higginbotham. It was alleged that Tabert was whipped approximately 150 times: 30-50 times initially, knocking him to the ground; at least another 30 times more, when he was ordered to get up but didn't (or couldn't); and further as the overseer chased Tabert through the work camp. Tabert ultimately made it back to his bed, where he died of his injuries just hours later. Coverage of Tabert's killing by the newspaper ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publ ...

'' earned it the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Florida governor

Cary A. Hardee Cary Augustus Hardee (November 13, 1876 – November 21, 1957) was an American educator, lawyer, legislator, and banker who served as the 23rd Governor of Florida. Biography Early life and career Born in Taylor County, Florida, he spent mo ...

ended Florida's system of

in 1923, in part due to public revulsion resulting from the widespread publicity concerning the conviction of Higginbotham for second-degree murder and concern about the effect of the publicity on the state's tourist trade. The whip used on Tabert was of a type known as a "Black Aunty", a leather

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

measuring in length and weighing .Florida's Past Volume 3
Gene M. Burnett, Pineapple Press, Sarasota, FL (1988) p. 122-25 Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote a poem about the killing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabert, Martin 1922 deaths 1899 births Prison reform People from Cavalier County, North Dakota Prisoners who died in Florida detention Deaths by beating in the United States Whipping