Florida is often overlooked in conversations about the Civil Rights Movement, but the state—specifically St. Augustine—played an integral role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
A swim-in at St. Augustine’s Moson Motor Lodge on June 18, 1964, is credited with being the catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Shocking photos documenting a motel manager pouring hydrochloric acid to dispel Black swimmers drew national and international attention. The following day, the Civil Rights Act was approved in the U.S. Senate and later signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.
To honor its unique history, officials in St. Augustine’s St. Johns County launched the St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail in August 2025. This self-guided tour includes 20 historic sites that tell the story of the first Africans who visited Florida in 1513 with the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon and their crucial role in shaping St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest continuously occupied settlement, founded in 1565.
“This project brings greater recognition to the people and places that helped build and define St. Johns County,” said Brenda Swann, director of Grants & Operations at St. Johns Cultural Council. “We hope it inspires reflection, pride, and a deeper understanding of our shared history.”
Beyond St. Augustine, Florida was also home to civil rights activists who fought for equal pay, equal access to education, and the right to vote and often lost their lives to the cause. The following six places in Florida honor the state’s Black civil rights heroes by enabling travelers to learn more about Florida’s—and, by extension, the United States'—civil rights history.
Courtesy of the St. Johns Cultural Council
St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail, St. Augustine
Newly opened in August 2025, the St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail in St. Augustine consists of 20 self-guided historic sites, spanning more than 450 years of Black history that includes the arrival of free and enslaved Africans in 1565 to help build the new settlement.
One of the sites is Fort Mose Historic State Park, the location of the first legally sanctioned free Black community in what would become the United States, established in 1738. Visitors can also check out Butler Beachfront Park East, developed by businessman Frank Butler for fellow Black Americans who were excluded from St. Augustine’s segregated public beaches.
The heritage trail also includes important community landmarks like Trinity United Methodist Church, which played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement, serving as a venue for strategic planning and providing a haven for demonstrators.
Black patrons stayed at the Hampton House during Miami’s segregated years.
Courtesy of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
Historic Hampton House, Miami
Miami’s connection to the Civil Rights Movement was captured in the movie One Night in Miami, which depicts the meeting of Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke at the Hampton House Hotel to celebrate Ali’s defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964. At the time, Miami Beach was segregated, but Black patrons were welcome at the Hampton House in Brownsville, Miami’s thriving Black neighborhood.
The hotel was a Green Book locale and also hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who honed and practiced his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” here before the March on Washington in 1963. Today, the Historic Hampton House is a museum and cultural arts center that offers individual and group tours and ongoing community events, including art shows and live performances. (You can make tour reservations online ahead of your visit.)
Newtown, Sarasota
A few miles north of downtown Sarasota, Newtown is a small community that was established in 1914 when Jim Crow laws segregated Black Americans from Sarasota proper. One of Newtown’s most influential civil rights activists was Neil Humphrey Sr., Sarasota’s first NAACP president; he led wade-ins to desegregate Sarasota’s beaches, which were later desegregated with the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Newtown Heritage Trail honors the neighborhood’s Black activists; tour options include a self-guided walk of the 15 markers or an interactive trolley tour. Visitors can also stop by the Leonard Reid House, built in 1926 by one of Sarasota’s early Black pioneers, Leonard Reid, or visit the Greater Newtown Historical Gallery, a repository of Newtown history that includes family photo collections and artifacts. In April 2024, the Newtown neighborhood was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as the largest historic district in the city, as well as the largest historic Black district in Florida.
The Moores were murdered by Ku Klux Klan members for fighting for Black Americans’ rights.
Courtesy of the Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Center
Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park and Museum, Mims
The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Park and Museum, located in Mims, approximately one hour south of Orlando, commemorates the lives of two educators. In 1934, Harry founded the first NAACP chapter in Brevard County, focusing on voter registration and equal pay for Black teachers. His wife, Harriette, worked alongside him in these efforts. Their activism drew hostility from segregationists, which cost them their jobs.
On December 25, 1951, a bomb planted under their home by the Ku Klux Klan fatally injured the couple. Harry died that night, and Harriette nine days later, and they are now recognized as the first martyrs of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The museum offers exhibits, archives, and educational programs that document its work and the broader struggle for equality in Florida.
Lincolnville was an all-Black town in St. Augustine, and the museum celebrates that history.
Courtesy of St. Johns Cultural Council
Lincolnville Museum and the ACCORD Civil Rights Museum, St. Augustine
St. Augustine is one of Florida’s most important cities in the Civil Rights Movement. In the heart of the city lies the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, located in the historic Lincolnville neighborhood. Established by freedmen in 1866, Lincolnville once flourished as a center for Black-owned businesses, schools, and entertainment venues. The museum tells the story of St. Augustine’s Black history, spanning from the empires of West Africa and the early Black presence in colonial Florida to the 20th century, with exhibits dedicated to the civil rights activists who staged sit-ins and protests in St. Augustine.
Just a few blocks away, the ACCORD Civil Rights Museum houses an extensive collection of documents, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s fingerprinted jail card and the original Monson Motor Lodge sign. The museum is one of many stops on the ACCORD Freedom Trail, a project launched by Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations Inc., an organization founded in 2004 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s visit to St. Augustine in 1964. Today, the trail includes more than 30 historic homes, churches, and protest sites around St. Augustine.
The Ritz Theatre and Museum pays tribute to the Johnson brothers of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” fame.
Photo by Patrice Ross
Ritz Theatre and Museum, Jacksonville
Jacksonville’s LaVilla neighborhood was a hub for Black businesses and entertainers from the 1920s to the 1960s, earning the nickname “The Harlem of the South.” The Ritz Theatre was at the heart of the action, hosting such greats as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Ray Charles. In 1999, the Ritz Theatre and Museum was built on the site of the original venue to pay homage to Jacksonville’s Black history.
Two of Jacksonville’s most influential Black residents were brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, who penned the lyrics and composed the music for the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The song was adopted by the NAACP during the Civil Rights Movement and is still performed at national events like the Super Bowl. Today, the Ritz Theatre has a special exhibit and an animatronics show dedicated to the Johnson brothers. Visitors can also enjoy live performances there throughout the year.
