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

St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and the Beaches announce important events celebrating Black History

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 1- September 15: The St. Augustine Historical Society presents a Photographic History of the Black Community in St. Augustine at the Oldest House Museum.

June 5: 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 11: Civil Rights Exhibit Opening Ceremony at the Lincolnville Museum & Cultural Center

June 11, 18, and 25: Guided Civil Rights Tours by the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

June 12: St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department Historic Beach Walk at Frank Butler Park East

June 15: The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center Annual Juneteenth Heritage Luncheon

June 16: Civil Rights activist Charles Cobb at St. Paul AME Church

June 16: 100th Anniversary Celebration of Excelsior High School at Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

June 18: Commemoration of the Arrest of 16 Rabbis by The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society at Historic Hilton Bayfront Inn

June 19: 4^th Annual Juneteenth St. Augustine Music Festival, featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio at the Lewis Auditorium

June 22: Battle of Bloody Mose re-enactment at Fort Mose Historic State Park

June 25: Sculptor Dana King at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

July 1: ACCORD Film Festival and Book Signing

July 2: Freedom Trail Trolley Tour with historian David Nolan and 9^th Annual ACCORD Museum and Freedom Trail Luncheon at the Casa Monica Resort & Spa

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.

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. For advance travel information, call 1.800.653.2489 or go to the Visitors and Convention Bureau website at www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com. Check us out on social media Instagram @FloridasHistoricCoast; @ViajaStAugustine,  Facebook.com/OfficialStAugustine, and Facebook.com/ViajaStAugustine and Twitter @FlHistoricCoast

Contact:                                                                              
Barbara Golden, Communications Manager
904-669-8142 (cell)
[email protected] 

SOURCE Florida's Historic Coast