Commission supports Inauguration Day viewing
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 01/13/09
City Commissioners on Monday supported a celebration for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, saying it showed St. Augustine has come a long way from its 1964 Civil Rights struggle.
Resident Dee Lovell, along with members of many other citizen organizations, is spearheading a community gathering to watch the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. The group will meet in the downtown plaza, and Lovell asked the commission to waive the city's permit fee of $150 to hold the event.
Mayor Joe Boles said they couldn't do that, but he offered a solution.
"Well, if we (waive the fee) for one group, then we have to do it for everyone. So, we just can't do that," he said. "But if you can't find anyone to pay for it, I'll pay for the permit."
The commission also agreed to create a city proclamation supporting the event.
Boles emphasized that the city was backing the event because of its historic importance, with Obama being the first black president. But, he said, the city is non-partisan and is not supporting one particular party.
City resident Barbara Allen is also working with Lovell to plan the event. She lived in St. Augustine when white and black residents were segregated, and she was a part of the group that Martin Luther King Jr. rallied to fight for equal rights in St. Augustine.
She told the City Commission the inauguration event would unite the community.
"I was arrested in 1964 (during the Civil Rights)," Allen said. "I never thought I see an African American president."
Lovell also asked the city to provide free parking for the event. City Manager Bill Harriss said he couldn't do that, again because the city would have to do the same for other community events.
However, Harriss said the city would allow parking at the Special Events Field, adjacent to the Visitor Information Center parking garage, and then a trolley train company will shuttle people to the event for free.
The event will be held Jan. 20 from 11-2 p.m. Televisions will be set up to watch the inauguration. Residents are asked to bring their own chairs.
Commissioner Errol Jones, the only black City Commissioner, thanked his fellow commissioners for supporting the event. He, too, grew up in St. Augustine during the Civil Rights period, and he's going to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.
"Although we may differ on issues, we're still one," he said. "We're one city, we're one nation, and this (community celebration shows that)."
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