JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville native James Weldon Johnson will officially have a day named after him in Maine, the state where he was killed.
Johnson died in 1938 in the town of Wiscasset after the car that his wife was driving was hit by a train.
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Former Florida state Rep. Tony Hill connected with Maine state Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross in 2020 about how to commemorate where Johnson spent his final moments.
Now, Maine is honoring the Civil Rights icon on his birthday, which is June 17, designating it as James Weldon Johnson Day.
Mainers will celebrate Johnson and Juneteenth throughout the weekend. Leaders will speak across their state about his accomplishments.
Hill plans to speak, as well, and says he was passionate about making sure Johnson’s legacy was honored.
“It would just be fitting that we could honor our native son. What’s interesting about it is the track and the road is U.S. 1. And U.S. 1 comes all the way to Jacksonville,” Hill said. “It was just too many connections and divine places there that we could put together to honor James Weldon Johnson.”
The commemoration was also made possible by the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations, as well as the the James Weldon Johnson Day Task Force in Maine.