St. Augustine, founded in 1565, is the oldest extant city in America with European roots.
But that’s only part of the story, because of all the cities across the nation, it possesses another significant distinction: It’s also the oldest in terms of Black history. Approximately 50 Africans were among those who arrived here with Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565.
It was here that the first free African settlement in what is now the United States was established in 1738: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose — Fort Mose for short.
It was here that one of the earliest public readings of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation brought freedom to African-American slaves while many in other parts of the nation had to wait for the Civil War to end.
And it was here that events helped to precipitate passage of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It’s a history worth telling, a history in fact told through exhibits and events at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, located at 102 M.L. King Ave., St. Augustine.
Thursday, June 20, the museum’s executive director, Gayle Phillips, spoke before a gathering of St. Augustine Yacht Club members and guests as part of the club’s “Lunch and Learn” series.
“If you celebrate emancipation, if you celebrate Juneteenth, if you celebrate the passing of the Civil Rights Act, you’re celebrating freedom, dignity and equality for all mankind,” Phillips said.
The presentation marked a juxtaposition of some historically relevant events.
The 60th anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 fell on the previous day, June 19. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2 of that year.
Also on June 19, America observed Juneteenth, which annually celebrates the freeing of 250,000 enslaved Black people with the arrival of Union troops in Galveston Bay 159 years ago.
And this year marks the 150th anniversary of the St. Augustine Yacht Club, whose first commodore, Major General Gordon Granger, had been the very official who ordered enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation upon the Union victory in Galveston.
“Juneteenth is symbolic of freedom, a freedom that allows us to live peacefully with and among people who may be different from ourselves,” Phillips said. “America demands that we not overlook the differences but rather embrace them as a part of the tapestry that makes this country great and unique.”
The greater portion of Phillips’ presentation focused on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and St. Augustine’s role in the related movement.
Invited to the Nation’s Oldest City by civil rights pioneers such as Dr. Robert B. Hayling, the Rev. Goldie Eubanks and Henry Twine, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited on May 18, 1964. On June 11, King; Hayling; the Rev. Ralph Abernathy; Mary Peabody, mother of Massachusetts governor Endicott Peabody; and Esther Burgess, wife of an Episcopal bishop in Boston, were arrested for trespassing after attempting to eat at the Monson Motor Lodge, which was then reserved for Whites only.
While in jail, King wrote to Rabbi Israel Dresner seeking his support. In his letter, King described St. Augustine as “the most lawless community in which we have ever worked.”
In response, 17 Jewish rabbis traveled to St. Augustine to protest racial segregation, discrimination and violence. They were jailed on June 18, one week after King’s arrest. The rabbis famously composed a letter explaining their perspective titled “Why We Went to St. Augustine.”
In a photo taken that same day and published many times since, the owner of the Monson Motor Lodge attempted to force protestors out of the motel pool by pouring acid into it. Nationwide news coverage arguably contributed to the end of an 83-day filibuster in the Senate and the subsequent passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
King’s visit was important to the movement.
“Dr. King strategized by day and held rallies by night,” Phillips said. “He moved among the homes of many residents, like Cora Tyson, who’s still here in this community … and Miss Janie Price, who passed away last year. They held rallies at Lincolnville churches, like St. Paul AME Church.”
These rallies were attended by overflow crowds and, occasionally, celebrities like baseball great Jackie Robinson.
“Dr. King’s appeal was often the same: Won’t you come? What will you do?” said Phillips.
Though much has transpired since that summer of 1964, Phillips pointed out that challenges persist.
“I’m reminded by the words of Dr. King: ‘What will you do?’” she said. “What will you do to make America the place promised in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution? Will you stand up against unjust laws? Will you speak out against unjust treatment? Will you come to the aid of those who cannot stand up for themselves?”
The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center is open 1-4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For further information, go to lincolnvillemuseum.org.
