Mayor Joe Boles gave one of the best speeches of his life this morning, in which he spoke to some 250 local residents of what it was like in St. Augustine 1963-64, quoting St. Augustine, who said, "an unjust law is no law at all." Several hours later, the Mayor expressed similar heart-felt sentiments in his speech to some 100 local residents at the Slave Market Square, where one year ago this Wednesday, January 20th, St. Augustinians celebrated our 44th President's inauguration.
Both of Mayor Boles' speeches were eloquent, from the heart, and Lincolnesque. Both were short and sweet and to the point. In the Slave Market Square speech, Mayor Boles spoke of St. Augustine as being the Gettysburg of the civil rights movement," the turning point that changed history.
Amen. Mayor Boles mentioned his three daughters, who understandably (like most of us who did not live here in 1964) had trouble believing that schools were once segregated in St. Augustine. Mayor Boles said he was proud to be a graduate of the first desegregated class to graduate from St. Augustine High School (1969-1970).
At WGV, State Senator Tony Hill was eloquent, as always, speaking of the need for change, and of how our lives are enriched by Dr. King's vision. Sen. Hill paid tribute to local civil rights hero Stetson Kennedy, who infiltrated the Klan and helped prosecute it. Hill spoke of low African-American graduation rates in Florida (only 32%) and the need to provide for education (instead of incarceration). Hill spoke of the need for urgency to fulfill Dr. King's dream, which was realized as a result of what happened here in our streets in our Nation's Oldest City.
Yesterday's St. Augustine Record carried a story, above, about declining local real estate prices.
There's one thing we can do as a community that will stabilize and increase real estate prices, protect our environment, preserve our history, honor 11,000 years of diverse cultures, and welcome the world here for our 500th anniversary of Spanish Florida (2013), 450th anniversary of St. Augustine (2015), 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement (2014) and 100th anniversary of the National Park Service (2016).
Drum roll, please.
We need a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, which will honor 11,000 years of history, including a national civil rights museum here, like those in Memphis, Birmingham and Greensboro, so that future generations will learn human rights.
Florida students should be required to study civil rights history in grades K-12. Mississippi just voted to do it. This will draw students inexorably to St. Augustine to learn from our past.
What do you reckon?
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