St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565 by Hispanics, Catholics, Jews, African-Americans, women and children. The first Thanksgiving was held here that day, with all these Spanish colonists joining with Native Americans. One big table. That's America.
Our Nation's Oldest European-founded City, we observe our 450th birthday in 2015.
St. Augustine is "our first diverse city and our most diverse city," says Mayor Joseph L. Boles, Jr. It is now a Compassionate City (20th in the world and first in Florida).
Diverse people have made this a better place from Day One. St. Augustine has survived hurricanes, pirate raids, British attacks, sieges and arson, dishonest developers, organized crime, criminal governmen officials, homophobia (North America's first recorded anti-Gay hate crime was on Governor's orders in 1566), racism, slavery, the Civil War and Jim Crow segregation.
St. Augustine saw America's first free black settlement in 1687, when the Spanish gave freedom to slaves who moved here from the Carolinas and Georgia, if they converted to Catholicism and defended the City. The Underground Railroad began here, running south to St. Augustine, commencing in 1687.
Watch this space.
Prediction: We're going to achieve a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore, and preserve our sense of place, our history and nature, forever. See www.staugustgreen.com
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