A look back at 1964, the Passage of the Civil Rights Act, and St. Augustine, Florida's Unexpected Role

The month of June invites us to consider the pivotal role that the nation's oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida, would play in the Civil Rights movement. Only days before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be passed, the push to desegregate public accommodations grew more intense in St. Augustine, as peaceful protesters led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to that city to engage in restaurant sit-ins and beach swim-ins, in an effort to urge the desegregation of those accommodations.

Related Keywords

Florida East Coast ,Florida ,United States ,Spain ,United Kingdom ,France ,Spanish ,Britain ,British ,French ,Ralph Abernathy ,James Brock ,King Ferdinand ,Martin Luther King Jr ,Wikimedia Commons ,Henry Flagler ,Don Pedro Menendez ,Pedro Menendez ,Johnd Rockefeller ,Lyndon Johnson ,Roman Catholic Church ,Florida East Coast Railway ,Monson Motor Lodge In St ,Monson Motor Lodge ,Civil Rights Movement ,Standard Oil Company ,Civil Rights ,Civil Rights Act ,President Lyndon Johnson ,Roman Catholic ,Don Pedro Menendez De Aviles ,Juan Ponce ,Underground Railroad ,Martin Luther King ,