SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla – A museum vital to St. Augustine’s Black history is now home to another prominent piece of history. Part of the original Woolworth’s lunch countertop where historic sit-ins were staged is now on display at The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
In July 1963, Black students in St. Augustine staged a sit-in at the segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter on King Street. The students were arrested and charged with public vagrancy and disturbance of the peace.
While the counter where they once protested may look simple enough, the museum’s executive director, Gayle Phillips, says it serves as a powerful symbol of the times.
“Can you imagine not being able to go to McDonald’s and order a hamburger and sit down and eat it?” Phillips said. “All of those things were not free to these people who sat at that lunch counter. They were willing to put their very freedom on the line to make it happen for us, the next generation.”
As Phillips explains, after their arrests, the four teens rejected an agreement to have the charges dropped if they vowed to never protest again. The group became known as “the St. Augustine Four.”
“These four courageous teenagers, they were not adults, they were teenagers,” Phillips said. “They were sent to reform schools, which changed their lives forever.”
Phillips said the students were released in January 1964 after their story was shared nationally and state officials intervened. The counter sits in good company inside the museum.
“We have the arrest record and fingerprint cards of Dr. Martin Luther King from 1964,” Phillips said. “That is a part of our permanent exhibits as well.”
Also, a few feet away are pieces from the pool at the Monson Motor Lodge, site of the infamous acid attack. Phillips said this new addition is yet another teaching tool.
“To be able to show people this really happened, this is how it happened, this is where it happened,” Phillips said. “It is all the more reason why we should continue to stand up for democracy.”
Seeing history up close and honoring those who took a stand by refusing to stand.
The counter is on display now, but Phillips said the museum is planning for a more formal role out of the exhibit in the coming months. The Lincolnville Museum and cultural center are housed inside the Excelsior High School Building, which was St. Johns County’s first Black public high school.
Nearing its 100th birthday, the building is currently undergoing the first phase of a historic preservation project from the National Park Service. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, you can visit the museum website.
