Dr. King’s Legacy in St. Augustine
The year 1964 marked St. Augustine’s 400th anniversary, and also coincided with the massive civil right struggle that defined both the nation and its oldest city. Civil unrest gripped the town a year prior, when a local dentist named Robert B. Hayling was attacked by Ku Klux Klan members during a sit-in protest. The news quickly ripped through the south and soon reached the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a Christian nonviolence coalition that counted among its members Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who by now was a household name in the civil rights movement.
Dr. King first visited St. Augustine in May 1964, sent as a delegate by the SCLC to support the city’s small, but dedicated, anti-discrimination movement. Living in a small home on the ocean side of Anastasia Island, he helped Hayling and other local activists to organize protests, and also spoke at local churches. He endured threats and even had shots fired at his home. Yet, he continued to support the local Black community against unjust acts.
Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr. - Saint Augustine, Florida
Source: Florida Memory State Library and Archives
Dr. King is perhaps most famous in St. Augustine for the events of June 11th, 1964. Along with other SCLC members including his close friend and advisor Ralph Abernathy (pictured above, left), Dr. King arrived at the Monson Motor Lodge, a segregated restaurant and hotel, to eat dinner. After being asked to leave and refusing, King was arrested and detained in St. Johns County Jail. The news made waves throughout the small community and helped bring the message of nonviolent protest and anti-discrimination to the town.
A week later, a Grand Jury convened and asked Dr. King and the rest of the SCLC to leave St. Augustine in order to help restore “racial harmony”. Dr. King called the request an “immoral one,” and though he had lofty plans for the SCLC in other states, he decided to stay and help support the local community. It worked: King did not leave St. Augustine until June 31, 1964. The next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
Martin Luther King, Jr. being escorted away from the Grand Jury in St. Augustine, Florida.
To this day, some believe that Dr. King’s protests in St. Augustine provided the vital, final push to get the Civil Rights Act signed. Whether or not that is the case, the city of St. Augustine still proudly honors Dr. King. The home where he lived and the front steps of the Monson Motor Lodge (now the Hilton Bayfront Hotel) now have historical markers commemorating their significance in the Civil Rights Movement, and organizations like The Lincolnville Cultural Center continue to preserve and share the stories of turmoil and triumph in St. Augustine.
St. Augustine Distillery is proud to preserve the legacy of Dr. King and the history of our city for future generations, in the hopes that we can all embody Dr. King’s ideals and create a better tomorrow for our children and our city.
Honoring History and Community Through Music
In partnership with the St. Johns County Cultural Events Division and Fort Mose Historic State Park, we are proud to sponsor the inaugural Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series in February 2022 to honor and celebrate the cultural significance of Black history in St. Augustine.
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The Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series will comprise of six unforgettable performances over three weeks from some of the biggest names in their respective genres.
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Fort Mose is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. This small-batch concert series provides a unique opportunity to celebrate America’s most beloved jazz and blues artists on the grounds of one of the country’s most important historic sites. Proceeds of this series will support the construction of an on-site fort representation and the development of additional interpretive resources. ⠀
