ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — West Augustine will soon be home to a museum paying homage to Black history here in Florida year-round, but those involved in the project are calling on the state legislature to act this year to speed up the process.
Board Chair of the Foundation for the Museum of Black History Howard Holley argued there’s no city in the state that compares in terms of its impact on Black history and the Civil Rights Movement.
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It starts with first recorded birth of a Black child in the United States at Fort Mose in 1595.
“The history of Black Americans and Floridians starts here,” Holley said.
As a teenager, local civil rights activist Greg White witnessed firsthand St. Augustine’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s.
“Marching around the plaza saying nobody gonna turn us around. Doing all these things that kids do because we was tired of the fountains, the water fountains we could not drink out of. We was tired of going to Woolworth’s and not be able to sit down and get a decent meal,” White said.
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Between 1963 and 1964 St. Augustine was a hotbed for civil rights activities and protests.
Historical footage captured the tense, and at times chaotic, scenes that played out as demonstrators attempted to desegregate Anastasia Beach.
Even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent time in the city, giving speeches in churches.
A historic photo documented a bullet hole shot through the window of the beach cottage rented by Dr. King during his time in the city.
The Civil Rights leader was arrested while participating in a protest of the white-only Monson Motor Lodge in June of 1964.
Six days later, protests at the hotel sparked international attention, when owner James Brock infamously poured acid into the hotel pool after activists had jumped in to protest segregation.
“Everybody saw what was happening. President Johnson said, and I quote, what the hell is going on down there in St. Augustine,” White said.
Those historic moments and more are all topics White and Holley hope to see memorialized in the future museum.
But oftentimes, progress doesn’t move as fast as one might hope.
A million dollars was included in last year’s state budget to get the ball rolling, and while a statewide task force officially named West Augustine as the museum’s future home in 2024, the state legislature has so far not followed through with codifying the decision in state law.
Private fundraising for the project is ongoing and there’s an additional budget request for $2 million this year, but Holley explained getting legislation that would establish a museum board of directors across the finish line will be a big help.
“It’s hard to go out to a corporation and say, give us a donation, a capital donation to support building the museum when the legislature hasn’t voted and confirmed it will be here,” Holley said.
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Last session, the bill passed the full Senate unanimously, but never got a hearing in the House.
At this point, it’s looking like a similar outcome may play out this year as well.
But Holley is holding out hope the House gets on board before lawmakers close out this year’s session in March.
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“I think there’s a lot of reasons for the House to move, because there are people who are waiting for this to happen. They’ve been waiting for decades,” Holley said. ”There are people that are in their 80’s and 90’s who have been holding onto artifacts waiting for somewhere for their story to be told. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer.”
State Senator Tom Leek, who is sponsoring the bill that would codify West Augustine as the museum’s future home, told Action News Jax in December whether his bill passes or not this year, the museum will be built, and it will be built in West Augustine.
At this point, it’s just a question of when and how fast.
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