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We will Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Jacksonville Youth Council's NAACP 1960

Sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday on Thursday, August 27, 2020 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM

James Weldon Johnson Park in Downtown Jacksonville, Fl.

(Formerly Known As Hemming Park)

The commemoration is sponsored by the NAACP, the Center for Urban Education and Policy, 

Leadership Is For Everyone Inc. (LIFE), and a host of other individuals and companies.

Since we value our fellow Jacksonville citizens and will not put their lives at risk, the 60th Commemoration will be comprised of program guests who will gather in James Weldon Johnson Park exercising social distancing and other responsible measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. We encourage supporters throughout the country to participate virtually in the commemoration from the safety of their homes via multiple social media platforms, which we will announce in subsequent releases.

 

Ax Handle Saturday and the 1960 Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP sit-ins are a part of Jacksonville's Civil Rights history and a part of Jacksonville’s painful racist past. We must continue to tell the story of those brave Youth Council NAACP members who peacefully protested the racism and the segregation of downtown commercial stores, and Jacksonville’s White community response of vicious violence. Some 60-years-later, there are opinions that say the climate for Black and Brown people in Jacksonville and this country have changed very little. The 60th Commemoration of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP Sit-In Demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday is designed to educate, inform, and bring the darkness of those days into light. Rodney Hurst, President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP will preside. 

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James Weldon Johnson Park 

(Formerly Known As Hemming Park)

The Commemoration Will Include:

  • Historical Facts - Do You Know What Really Happened?

    • The Story of the 1960's Sit-Ins

    • The Story of Segregated Social & Political Climate of Jacksonville

    • Introduction of members of the 1960 Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP

  • Reflections from "The Movement"

    • Personal Accounts from 1960 Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP members

    • Comments and expressions from local and national Civil Rights leaders

    • Comments and expressions from local and national political leaders

    • Songs from National Recording Artists

    • Musical Expressions from the Civil Rights Movement

    • Art Presentations from Local Artists

  • Launch of the Civil Rights Conference

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The Launch of The Civil Rights Movement

 

During the 60th Commemoration for Ax Handle Saturday we will officially announce the First Annual Civil Rights Conference in Jacksonville, Florida to be held

August 26-29, 2021. The conference will include: a mass meeting, keynotes by national speakers, educational workshops by national experts in the field of education, Civil Rights films, Civil Rights art, and much more.

 

We will also announce monthly learning exchanges that will precede the Civil Rights Conference. The virtual experiences will begin in September 2020 and run through July 2021. A youth leadership component will be an integral component of the learning exchanges and the Civil Rights conference. A special announcement will be made concerning work on a Jacksonville Civil Rights Museum.

 

Vanguard Solutions Consulting, a Jacksonville based marketing and management firm is handling all marketing and media requests. For additional information, contact Roxy Hall at 904-207-1278.

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