Civil Rights in the Sunshine City
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During the modern civil rights movement, the world’s eyes were focused on places like Birmingham, Selma, Jackson, and Atlanta. Florida, including St. Petersburg, continued to promote fun in the sun and surf.
But behind the slick tourism-oriented advertising, roadside attractions and citrus stands, a growing civil rights movement began knocking down barriers and challenging a Jim Crow system that controlled St. Petersburg for decades.
Like in other parts of the South, lunch counter sit-ins and protests outside segregated theaters and entertainment venues took place in downtown St. Pete. The Freedom Riders also made a stop on Central Avenue during their journey from Washington, D.C. to integrate bus station waiting rooms.
Unique to St. Pete’s civil rights movement, not seen in Mississippi or Alabama, were the protests over our famed green benches, beaches, and pools. In a city surrounded by water, there was only one small spot where African Americans were permitted to swim. Wade-in protests were born.
Presented by The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Florida, Civil Rights in the Sunshine City looks at the events that helped end legal segregation in St. Petersburg and begin to create a unified city.