Surfing is not often associated with influencing the 1960s civil rights movement. But watching Gigi Lucas wade into the waters of Florida’s St. Augustine beach today is a direct product of the movement.
Fifty-six years ago, this was considered illegal – for a black woman to swim into the ocean here and surf. And it was a little over 56 years ago in this same place where activists held wade-ins that directly contributed to the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Organized by Dr. Robert B. Hayling, the beach was chosen as a place for non-violent demonstrations specifically because it was segregated — reserved for whites only and therefore illegal for people of color to swim in the water or enjoy the beach. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joined the wade-ins here, and when images of segregationists attacking and beating activists were broadcast around the world, St. Augustine became an epicenter of the entire movement. Once the Civil Rights Act was passed, the same protestors that had been beaten for entering the water here were now given the right to enjoy it alongside anybody else.