Mrs. Kuhr's Language Arts Blog

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. came to our school on Thursday, April 22, 2010. He arrived at about 2:20 p.m. and began speaking immediately. He spoke for at least an hour and a half. Most people would assume that it would be boring and long. Those were my first assumptions, as well. But I was wrong. I sat there the entire time, intrigued by the words coming out of Mr. Hurst’s mouth.

In 1960, Mr. Hurst was the president of the youth division of the NAACP at the age of 16 and during the time of Ax Handle Saturday. If you would have asked me a week ago what Ax Handle Saturday was, I would have shrugged and said, “I have no idea.” After researching Mr. Hurst and Ax Handle Saturday (for schoolwork), I knew nothing more than the general facts about what happened on that day.

From Mr. Hurst, I learned that the youth division of the NAACP participated in sit-ins at white lunch counters. They figured that since they were denied their rights, then the lunch counters should lose some money. On August 27, 1960, they were just sitting at another white lunch counter, protesting in another sit-in; but this time, while leaving they were surrounded by 200 white men with ax handles and baseball bats. Some of the men were Ku Klux Klan. The members of the youth group ran as fast as they could to safety. Some were more hurt than others, but I do not think anyone was killed.

Before last Thursday, I had assumed that Jacksonville, Florida was just another city in the South. I was aware that there was racism and segregation here, but I thought that was a “classic” description of any southern city. By 3:45 p.m., however, I learned how wrong I was. Jacksonville, Florida was extremely segregated and was home to many racist people. The papers covered it up; the city didn’t want the world to know what they had done. The only people who heard about it were other Blacks. It was vaguely mentioned in the part of the newspaper called “News for and About the Colored People”, a section of the Florida Times Union that was only delivered to the homes of ‘colored people’.Although he did not go into extreme detail, we were still able to ‘get the picture’.

But by the time Mr. Hurst left, I not only knew more details of the events of 1960, but I  had a personal perspective of what it was like. Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. was there; he wasn’t a by-stander. If he hadn’t run, he would have been seriously injured or worse.

Listening to Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. really made me open my eyes. I knew about racism and anti-Semitism, but I never knew how bad it was, especially in my home city. I know to be open minded and care for others- through learning about Jewish history-but now I have “seen” the result of what happens when people choose to be cruel to others. I don’t understand why people just can’t except each other’s beliefs or see past the color of their skin. When everyone learns to accept people for the person on the inside, not judge the outside, then our world will be in much better shape!

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. Speaks to MJGDS Middle School Students

On Thursday, April 22, 2010,  I had the honor of meeting and listening to one Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. – the author of the award winning book, It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke. A civil rights activist since joining the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP at age 11, Mr. Hurst participated in the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida. I was invited by Mrs. Judy Reppert (social studies teacher extraordinaire who, daily, makes history come alive in her classroom) to join the entire MJGDS Middle School student body to hear Mr. Hurst’s personal account of the times and events leading up to and including Ax Handle Saturday, a bloody August 27, 1960. What follows are my impressions of his visit.

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a dynamic man. He exudes passion and conviction when he speaks. There is a kindness about him, a sensitivity to the needs of others, and a twinkle of humor; yet, one is aware of a layer of steely strength and courage that has allowed him to survive the senseless hatred of segregation and tell its story.

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a ‘teacher’. He shares his knowledge and experience with others and we, in turn, learn lessons of humanity. Mr. Hurst, like many Holocaust survivors, also is compelled to correct the history books and teach the truth about the horrors, the indifference and, subsequently, the heroes spawned from bigotry and injustice. To quote his website, “Most Black and White citizens of Selma, Birmingham, Memphis, and Atlanta are acutely familiar with the violent civil rights struggles that occurred in their cities. Though the struggles in those cities may be more familiar, Jacksonville was not immune to the same type of cruelties. Ax Handle Saturday…a facet of Jacksonville’s history very few are willing to discuss, let alone embrace…the eye-opening details, when synthesized, provide a remarkable history worth telling. The peaceful protests of teenagers who dared to challenge segregated white lunch counters is not a myth or an urban legend. Nor is the attack by more than 200 whites with baseball bats and ax handles on 34 Black NAACP Youth Council members on August 27, 1960.”

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a ‘preacher’. He has a message that the world needs to hear and he is prepared to shout it from the rooftops, the classrooms, the meeting rooms, the libraries, the book shelves. “The civil rights movement in the late fifties and early sixties is a history of brave and unselfish Black leaders fighting against racism and segregation, and for the equality of all people in the United States. Today’s generation must understand the circumstances and the times that led to this racially explosive and violent day in Jacksonville’s history. Regardless of what you have heard or seen about sit-in demonstrations, it was never about eating a hot dog and drinking a Coke! It was always about human dignity and respect.”

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is the personification of human dignity; he has gained both my respect and my admiration. Kol hakavod.

To learn more about the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday, in Jacksonville this August, see Mr. Hurst’s blogspot.

Special thanks to Ms. Kim Glasgal for arranging Mr. Hurst’s appearance.