St. Augustine Prepares to Unveil Monument to Honor Civil Rights Icon
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Workers were back-filling dirt and blowing leaves off a new monument in the Plaza de la Constitucion on Wednesday.
The piece, to be unveiled Saturday, honors a little-known event in the Civil Rights movement, Andrew Young's crossing.
"450 years of history and only 47 years ago, we had one of the most profound histories that changed our nation, changed our culture," explained John Regan, St. Augustine city manager.
Young was leading a group of activists into the Plaza on June 9, 1964, when an opposing group stopped them and began to beat Young in the intersection of King Street and St. George Street.
That intersection will be re-named Saturday as "Andrew Young Crossing" in honor of his leadership that day.