Jacksonville's first civil rights conference, developed by Rodney Hurst, set for February

The Jacksonville Civil Rights Conference was postponed until Aug. 25, 26 and 27 due to COVID-19. All original conference speakers have re-confirmed their participation.

Jacksonville is the birthplace or adopted home of some of the country's most well-known civil rights leadership.

The city is the birthplace of James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, brothers who wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing," which is now considered the Black national anthem.

It's also where Asa Philip Randolph, the inspiration for the 1963 March on Washington, grew up.

And it's where young demonstrators marched and sat at downtown lunch counters in the 1960s to protest racial injustices and segregation.

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Rodney Hurst Sr. was the leader of demonstrations on Aug. 27, 1960, when a group of white men with ax handles attacked protestors and other Black residents shopping or working nearby. The day, now known as Ax Handle Saturday, made national news, and Hurst has held a yearly commemoration for several decades.

More than 60 years later, Hurst, still an activist and now an author and historian, wanted a conference dedicated to the topic of civil rights — including changes still needed in Jacksonville.

"Ultimately Jacksonville's leadership has to catch up," Hurst said. "A lot of its leadership are in the 50s and 60s, and Jacksonville has groveled in the past for too long with the insidious and the harmful and the evil and the vulgar displays of insensitivity and racism over the years."

Law enforcement, housing, voting rights and more

The inaugural Jacksonville Civil Rights Conference will delve into the treatment of low-income and Black people by law enforcement, housing, generational wealth, voting rights, inequalities in city services and other equality issues, all things that still need to be addressed by city leadership. Hurst promises the conference will delve into these often "uncomfortable" topics.

The Jacksonville Civil Rights Conference, delayed from its original date in August 2021 because of COVID, is set for Aug. 25, 26 and 27 this year at the Southbank Marriott down, with a commemoration of Ax Handle Saturday at The Bethel Church.

Tickets are $100 to attend virtually and $200 for in-person attendance, which has been limited to 250 people.

"Why not now? I've been talking about our need to have a civil rights conference for people just to come together for a meeting of the minds," Hurst, who conceptualized the idea for the conference, told the Times-Union.

Over three days, the conference will have eight speakers, break-out sessions and performances by G. C. Cameron, former lead singer for the Spinners and the Temptations, and local band The Katz Downstairz.

Following the conference, Hurst, United Way of Northeast Florida, LIFE (Leadership Is For Everyone Inc.) and other event sponsors and activists will host monthly and quarterly meetings that will be similar to the conference but on a smaller scale.

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Rudy F. Jamison Jr. Ed.D, and president of LIFE, says the conference is about building community and discussing civil rights issues so people leave more informed than when they came.

"The conceptualization of [the conference] was to primarily connect the historic to contemporary civil rights issues and show how we've progressed," Jamison said. "But also to create opportunities for us to explore how we advance civil rights...and there should be a lot more urgency around it."

Jamison says Jacksonville has a long way to go when it comes to equality in education, housing and wealth creation, but that looking back at history is important because society is "inequitable today because of yesterday."

City leaders and local law enforcement are also invited to attend the conference.

Katherine Lewin is the enterprise reporter at the Times-Union covering criminal and social justice issues in Northeast Florida. Email her at klewin@jacksonville.com or follow on Twitter @KatherineMLewin. Contact her for her Signal number to share tips and documents. Support local journalism!

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Civil rights: Inaugural Jacksonville conference scheduled for February