JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville will become part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in 2026 as the national trail expands to include new historic sites in Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Florida.
The U.S. Civil Rights Trail highlights pivotal people, places and events that shaped the nation’s civil rights movement, using place-based markers, education and storytelling to connect visitors to the streets, neighborhoods and institutions where organizing took root.
Launched in 2018, the trail now includes more than 130 churches, courthouses, schools, museums and other landmarks, primarily across the South, where activists challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s.
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“Every year, the U.S. Civil Rights Trail continues to grow, giving visitors new opportunities to experience the people and places that shaped history,” said Mark Ezell, chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Marketing Alliance. “These new sites add unique and powerful stories that will truly deepen our understanding of the civil rights movement.”
As part of the expansion, the city will create a Jacksonville Civil Rights Trail consisting of 40 markers honoring both landmark events and everyday leaders who worked across neighborhoods and generations to challenge injustice.
The first five markers will be installed in February during Black History Month.
The city will install the first marker at 1 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, in front of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church.
More information about the U.S. Civil Rights Trail is available at CivilRightsTrail.com.
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