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Rosenwald High School in Panama City was one of the first and only African American schools in Panama City before desegregation. This school was part of the larger Rosenwald School Project, where Julius Rosenwald partnered with Booker T. Washington to build schools throughout the South for African American children.

Jesse James Payne was an African American agricultural laborer who was lynched in Madison County on October 11, 1945. Earlier that year, Payne had had a disagreement with the landowner he worked for, Daniel Levy Goodman. Goodman and his sons abducted Payne from the home of a friend in retaliation, but Payne escaped. Goodman claimed Payne had sexually assaulted his five-year-old daughter, prompting a manhunt by both law enforcement officials and an armed mob. Madison County Sheriff Lonnie Turner Davis apprehended Payne and lodged him in the state prison at Raiford, fearing extralegal violence. Payne was transferred back to Madison County for trial, but shortly after his arraignment he was taken from the county jail and shot to death. The episode received nationwide press coverage and prompted numerous letters to Governor Millard Caldwell demanding that Sheriff Davis be removed or at least reprimanded for his negligence in leaving the jail unguarded. Davis kept his post, however, and no one was ever held responsible for Jessie James Payne's violent murder.