ACCORD Freedom Trail-33 Bernard Street - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Bernard Street is one of three historically black residential streets in the North City area, dating back to the Flagler Era. At the west end of the street were a lumber yard, steam laundry, and ice plant that provided employment. Other residents worked at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and the Fountain of Youth.
In the early twentieth century, Dawson Chapel C.M.E., Hurst Chapel A.M.E., and North City Baptist Church were built on Bernard St.
Many residents were active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, including Eliza Hawthorne, secretary of the NAACP, and Bungum Roberson, treasurer of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Another notable resident was Cary White, for whom a building at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind is named. He was the school's first black graduate.
St. Augustine public schools were segregated until 1963, when 6 black students enrolled in formerly all-white schools. In May, 1964 it was announced that 13 more black students would go to white schools, and a majority of them lived on Bernard Street.
This marker is placed here to honor those pioneers of school desegregation who lived on Bernard Street: Rose Etta Washington and Alfred Eugene Davis (who lived in this house), Christopher White, Janet Elizabeth White, Janice Marie White, Deanna Debra Brown, Michael Edward Brown, and Walter Eugene White.

For their courage, they were included in the group that Dr. Martin Luther King hailed as "the heroes of St. Augustine."

Marker Number: None Date: July 2, 2008 County: St Johns Marker Type: Plaque Sponsored or placed by: Northrop Grumman Website: Not listed

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