ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Sixteen Jewish rabbis were arrested 60 years ago today for demonstrating against segregation in St. Augustine. They were walking along side Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.
“We were arrested on Thursday, June 18, 1964, 15 of us were arrested while praying in an integrated group at a restaurant.”
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline read the famous words written on behalf of the 16 rabbis who protested against racial discrimination, violence and segregation.
“We are grateful for the rare experience and sharing with this courageous community, their life, there suffering and their effort,” Sikes-Kline read.
The letter is titled, “Why We Went,” a historical account of the reason why Jewish leaders decided to take action against injustice.
In 1964, the rabbis created a diversion in front of the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, which allowed young black activists the opportunity to jump in the motels “white only” swimming pool.
This led to a man pouring acid into the pool in order to get the young activists out of the water.
Many of the rabbis at the time say they felt driven to act with Martin Luther King by the memory of the Holocaust. They wrote, “We could not pass by the opportunity to achieve a moral goal by moral means, a rare modern privilege, which has been the glory of the non-violent struggle for civil rights.
”When I heard the letter it brought tears to my eyes because it lets me know there are allies, I’m African American, and it lets me know there are other people that are allies,” Pastor Laverne March said.
A crowd of people gathered in St. Augustine Tuesday to listen to the powerful words penned inside of a St. Augustine jail cell. Some of them imagining what it must have been like to answer that call to action.
Rabbi Merrill Shapiro says it’s a message that still has relevance today. “The struggle to create a just world, is not an element of the past history, but very much in the present. We need to work together, diverse communities of faith, different racial communities, we need to work together to create a world of justice,” he said.
“A lot of our rights are being stripped right now, not only is this a booster shot -- it is a reminder that if we don’t get out and vote and get active, then we are in danger of having those rights that we fought 60 years ago, stripped from us,” Pastor March said.
The arrest of those 16 religious leaders was the largest mass arrest of rabbis in U.S. history. Congress passed the civil Rights Act the following day after their arrests in 1964, after an 83-day prolonged debate.