ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A new app by Visit St. Augustine and Florida Historic Coast allows you to interactively immerse yourself in St. Augustine’s rich Black history that spans over 450 years.
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Cheyenne Koth-Leahy is a writer and historian for Visit St. Augustine and she was part of the team that helped bring the St. Augustine Black History App to life.
Florida Historic Coast’s website said that embracing Black History is an integral part of American history. The app blends historical content with real-life exploration by using its “What’s Nearby” feature to show nearby historical sites as you walk through the city.
An example of where the app can take you is the Accord Civil Rights Museum. It was built in the 1950s by African American dentists and surgeons. Its waiting room is the first racially integrated one in St. Augustine. People would meet there during the Civil Rights Movement.
The next nearest location is the St. Paul A.M.E. Church, which was established in 1873. Activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have spoken there.
The area where Fort Mose used to be is the next closest location. It was founded in 1738 and it’s where the first Black free settlement was in the United States. They had a catholic priest and other town leaders.
The app is organized into four main sections: Events Timeline, Historical People, Historical Places, and Historical Topics. The Events Timeline gives an expansive overview of Florida’s Historic Coast. The Historical People and Places sections have profiles of important individuals and sites to St. Augustine’s Black history. The Historical Topics section connects people and places through themed pages like the Civil Rights Movement.
Koth-Leahy said the app will be regularly updated with content and functionality every quarter to give users a dynamic experience.
“That reflects how history works and how people’s understandings of our past reality and our current reality and all those connect,” Koth-Leahy said.
Koth-Leahy said the app will be regularly updated with content and functionality every quarter to give users a dynamic experience.
“That reflects how history works and how people’s understandings of our past reality and our current reality and all those connect,” Koth-Leahy said.
She said a lot of hard work went into creating the app and she hopes everyone using it walks away from St. Augustine more informed after using it.
“Black history is Florida history is American history,” Koth-Leahy said.
You can visit the St. Augustine Black History App website for more information.