9th Accord Freedom Trail Luncheon

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the ACCORD Freedom Trail hosts their 9th annual luncheon on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Casa Monica Resort and Spa.

The ACCORD Civil Rights Museum displays information that relates the stories of those who played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine during the 1960s. Special guests at the annual luncheon include two women who have their own stories to tell about that time:

• Dr. Cynthia Mitchell Clarke — As a teenager in the 1960s, Dr. Clarke had permission from her mother to join a Wade-in with Dorothy Cotton, then director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Education Program. At the time, St. Augustine Beach was designated as "whites only." Segregationists attacked the protestors and Cynthia Mitchell's nose was broken.
• Crystal Hayling — The daughter of Dr. Robert B. Hayling, one of the local leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, was not yet born when Klansmen drove up to their home and fired shots, killing their dog and terrorizing those inside, Crystal's mom and two older sisters. At the time, Mrs. Hayling was pregnant with Crystal, who heard her "birth story" over and over as her parents and sisters made sure she understood that freedom is not free and not promised to all.

Admission: $125.00 per person. Reservations can be made on their website. Ticketed luncheon guests may also register for a limited number of seats on a Trolley Tour with David Nolan from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m. that morning. Call (904) 599-7739 for more information.

When: Tuesday, July 2, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Where: The luncheon takes place at the Casa Monica Resort and Spa, 95 Cordova Street, St. Augustine, Florida.

The museum: The ACCORD Civil Rights Museum, at 79 Bridge Street, will be open at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays in February 2024.