Florida’s Historic Coast Recognizes 60th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act

Florida’s Historic Coast is ready to recognize the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act with events, presentations and celebrations. In June 1964, while Congress was in a stalemate debating the Civil Rights Act, attention turned southward as St. Augustine became the epicenter of the fight for equal rights for all Americans.




The nation’s oldest city made national news as peaceful activists faced violent opposition, including an incident later dubbed The Splash Heard Round the World, that produced images so haunting that Congress outlawed segregation the next day.

Visit St. Augustine and Florida’s Historic Coast recently launched the St. Augustine Black History App. It is free to download and integrate history with exploration, guiding visitors to significant locations while supplying related historical information.

Here are important commemorative presentations and celebrations that will take place this summer in the St. Augustine, Florida area:

• June 1st – September 15th: The St. Augustine Historical Society presents a Photographic History of the Black Community in St. Augustine at the Oldest House Museum
• June 5th: Waves of Change permanent exhibit commemorating Black History on St. Augustine Beach Opening Ceremony at the Cultural Arts Center at the St. Augustine Beach Hotel
• June 11th: Civil Rights Exhibit Opening Ceremony at the Lincolnville Museum & Cultural Center
• June 11th, 18th, and 25th: Guided Civil Rights Tours by the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
• June 12th: St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department Historic Beach Walk at Frank Butler Park East
• June 15th: The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center Annual Juneteenth Heritage Luncheon
• June 16th: Civil Rights activist Charles Cobb at St. Paul AME Church
• June 16th: 100th Anniversary Celebration of Excelsior High School at Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
• June 18th: Commemoration of the Arrest of 16 Rabbis by The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society at Historic Hilton Bayfront Inn
• June 19th: 4th Annual Juneteenth St. Augustine Music Festival, featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio at the Lewis Auditorium
• June 22nd: Battle of Bloody Mose re-enactment at Fort Mose Historic State Park
• June 25th: Sculptor Dana King at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
• July 1st: ACCORD Film Festival and Book Signing
• July 2nd: Freedom Trail Trolley Tour with historian David Nolan and 9th Annual ACCORD Museum and Freedom Trail Luncheon at the Casa Monica Resort & Spa

Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast includes historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra, the rural beauty of Hastings, Elkton, St. Johns, and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches.

From the beginnings of the Underground Railroad to the passing of the Civil Rights Act, experience this remarkable chapter in American history on Florida’s Historic Coast.