JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thursday, Aug. 27, marked 60 years since Ax Handle Saturday. A day known as one of the darkest days in the history of Jacksonville.
To commemorate the courage of those who put themselves in harm’s way that day, people gathered at the newly renamed James Weldon Johnson Park.
“I just wanna live, God protect me. I just wanna live,” sang Keedron Bryant a budding young star from Jacksonville whose song has become the national battle cry for many Americans who feel their rights don’t matter.
60 years ago, those same feelings were being felt by young black people who protested segregation by sitting-in at whites-only lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville.
Their act of defiance made them the target of racists white men who beat them with ax handles and baseball bats.
Charlie Griffin was hurt that day. His bloody photo became an icon of the Civil Rights movement.
Griffin’s son, DeVandis, drove from Atlanta to attend the 60th commemoration of Ax Handle Saturday.
On that day six decades ago, he said dad wasn’t even part of the sit-ins.
“It was something that my father never talked about,” he said. “He was downtown shopping for his school clothes for his senior year in high school when he was attacked.”
As people gathered in downtown, the empty pedestal on top of the confederate monument is a reminder that the city is making progress.
But the unrest we’ve seen at home and across the country shows us there’s still a long way to go.
“You know your car when the check engine light comes on and lets you know that you’re up for some repairs,” said Griffin. “If you ignore that, the car is going to eventually break down and that’s where we’re at. America is broken and it needs to be fixed.”
Event organizers showed one of the only pieces of video of Ax Handle Saturday.
There’s not a lot of footage because the bloody event was hardly covered by the media outlets in Jacksonville at the time.
But today, the story is being told.
“Did this have to happen? People were not bothering nobody, they were just trying to live,” said Billy Washington who was 8-years-old on Ax Handle Saturday.
Washington was among those who attended the 60th commemoration downtown and many more tuned in online.
Amber Sesnick took time out of her day to be there with her two kids.
“It’s important to understand where we have been so that we don’t make the same mistakes,” she said.
It wasn’t until this June that the confederate soldier statue was removed in the former Hemming Park and the park’s name was changed to James Weldon Johnson in honor of the Jacksonville born Civil Rights leader.
For Rodney Hurst II, it’s a step in the right direction but there’s still work to do.
“You still see too many hate situations going on hate crimes and everything else,” Hurst said.
Rep. Al Lawson has introduced legislation that would designate James Weldon Johnson Park as part of the National Park Service African-American Civil Rights Network.
Cox Media Group
