Civil rights activist honored by St. Augustine city commissioners

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – St. Augustine city commissioners on Monday recognized James Jackson in his unwavering fight for civil rights, handing him a signed proclamation declaring February 2022 Black History Month.

The now 77-year-old was about 18 when he was the lone survivor of a beating by members of the Ku Klux Klan. He learned of a large KKK rally happening the night of Sept. 18, 1963 just south of St. Augustine off U.S. 1.

Jackson and three older adults with the NAACP tried to keep an eye on the rally from afar, but they were seen by the crowd of more than 300, and beaten.

A white pastor who sympathized with the fight for civil rights immediately reported the incident to law enforcement on the local and state levels, as well as the FBI.

When help arrived, Jackson was the sole survivor of that beating.

“I was seeking justice and equality for my people and for these United States,” Jackson said. “And when I say United States, listen to me. We have got to get that word back into the USA -- United. Because divided we fail.

There would be more racial violence in St. Augustine in the months ahead, prompting a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the following summer of 1964, and the signing of the Civil Rights Act.