The Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization envisioned in 2002, established in 2003, and incorporated in 2004. Their mission is "Remembering, Recognizing, and Honoring all those who risked their lives to attain civil rights for all and celebrating St. Augustine's pivotal role in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964."
To learn more about ACCORD, visit www.accordfreedomtrail.org.
At this location in the Plaza de la Constitución on June 9th, 1964, Civil Rights Movement Leader Andrew Young led a march from Lincolnville to the Plaza de la Constitución where they met violent opposition. Young had been sent to St. Augustine by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. a close friend and fellow advocate, to organize a peaceful protest for human rights. When Young led the group of demonstrators across the street to this location he was beaten by a large white mob that had been waiting for the marchers to arrive.
Young recalls being struck down several times in the melee. The activists, being true to Dr. King's non-violent strategy walked away. Civil rights historians agree that this was one of the pivotal events that eventually lead to the passage of the Civil Rights legislation. National press coverage of the protests in 1964 helped break Congress' filibuster on the Civil Rights Act vote. On July 2nd, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill into law.
The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center (LMCC) is an African American history museum located in the Lincolnville neighborhood of Saint Augustine, FL. The LMCC’s mission is to preserve, promote and perpetuate over 450 years of the African American story through the arts, educational programs, lectures, live performances and exhibits.
To learn more about LMCC, visit www.lincolnvillemuseum.org.
Located in the Plaza de la Constitución, this monument is dedicated to those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in St. Augustine. They protested racial discrimination by marching, picketing, kneeling-in at churches, sitting-in at lunch counters, wading-in at beaches, attending rallies, raising money, preparing meals and providing safe haven.
They persisted in the face of jailings, beatings, shootings, loss of employment, threats and other dangers. They were Foot Soldiers for Freedom and Justice whose efforts and example helped to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Their courage and heroism changed America and inspired the world.
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