SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla – A St. Augustine woman is one of many unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement who was a trailblazer for women working in health care.
Janie Price was born in Lincolnville, which at the time was the Black township adjacent to downtown St. Augustine.
Price was known as the “Housemother” of the St. Augustine Civil Rights movement. She would let historic figures like Martin Luther King Jr. stay at her house whenever they came to town for rallies and marches.
Back then, that kind of hospitality came with a lot of danger.
“They had to sleep on mattresses on the floor because white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan were known to drive through Lincolnville and shoot bullets into the home or throw firebombs,” said Lenny Foster, the creator of the “Where We Stand” exhibit. “She wanted him to be safe.”
Price believed being a nurse was her calling and never backed down from the challenges she faced.
“I used to go around the neighborhood looking after people,” Price said during an interview in 2020. “I always wanted to take care of people.”
The Civil Rights icon was one of the first Black nurses at Flagler Hospital during the Jim Crow era, but she left her job as a registered nurse when she was denied equal pay. The color of her skin meant she earned less than a licensed practical nurse.
Price led the fight for equality among Black nurses.
Eventually, she became the school nurse at her alma mater, Excelsior High School, which was the only high school for Black kids at the time. That building is now the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
“Mrs. Janie is a part of the fabric of this community,” said Regina Gayle Phillips, who is the executive director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
Foster included Price in his “Where We Stand” exhibit that is on display inside the St. Johns County Administrative building until April. One of his illustrations describes when the KKK flipped Price’s car upside down after it found out she picked up Dr. King and another leader from the airport during one of their visits.
In a move meant to intimidate her, Price proved she would not be swayed.
“She drove the car around town, dented up and all, to show the white supremacists in the area that she was not afraid,” Foster said. “Those acts of bravery and courage helped set the tone.”
The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center named her a “Living Legend” in St. Augustine.