A survivor of the infamous Dozier School for Boys graduates, fulfilling a lifelong promise and hoping to inspire others.
At 75 years old, Eddie Horne fulfilled a decades-long promise to himself, walking across the graduation stage at St. Petersburg High School on Thursday to receive his high school diploma. His educational journey, derailed by severe abuse he endured as a teenager, has culminated in a moment of triumph over a past marked by trauma and hardship.
Horne’s education was cut short in 1964 and 1965 when, as a 14-year-old, he was a student at the state-run Dozier School for Boys. The institution, which closed in 2011, became synonymous with vicious beatings, molestation, and neglect.
“It was horrible,” Horne told local news outlets Fox 35 and WTSP, describing the brutal beatings he and other boys endured. “They just came down like they’re swinging a baseball bat on you.”…