In response to the posthumous exoneration of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Ernest Thomas, known as the Groveland Four, Representative Brown (D- Ocoee) had the following to say:
“Today as a state and a Nation, we witnessed an injustice that was righted with the exoneration of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Ernest Thomas. While it has taken 72 years and the men of the Groveland Four are no longer here, we are thankful their names have been cleared and their families were able to witness this historic moment. The past will continue to hang over the present until every injustice such as the one these four men faced has been undone. We must continue to fight for justice and equality, both for those in the present day as well as those in the past who did not have a voice to do so themselves.”
