How beaches and pools became a battleground for US civil rights.

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When we think of the iconic moments of the Civil Rights Movement in the US, we might imagine bus boycotts, lunch counter sit-ins or the March on Washington. Most of us won’t think of protests at beaches and pools. Yet these battles in the country’s waters played a crucial role in transforming America.

The campaign in the waters of St. Augustine, Florida, became one of the most critical in the movement to desegregate the US. The photos were published around the world, but the full story has often been left out of our history textbooks. And now, the legacy of segregated public waters continues to this day.

Note: The headline for this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: How beaches became a battleground for US civil rights.

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Check out the work of Clennon King in his full-length documentary and discussion program about St. Augustine’s Civil Rights movement, “Passage at St. Augustine”: https://augustinemonica.com/%22passag...

More information about the Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine at ACCORD Freedom Trail: https://accordfreedomtrail.org/

Archives from the Civil Rights Library of St. Augustine: https://cdm16000.contentdm.oclc.org/d...

Read Andrew Kahrl’s books on the movement to desegregate public waters: https://uncpress.org/book/97814696287... ; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/97803...

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