Pensacola in Escambia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Pensacola Lunch Counter Sit-Ins

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, November 14, 2017

1. Pensacola Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Marker

Inscription. This building, once occupied by a Woolworth’s five and dime store, played a role in the struggle for civil rights in Florida. In the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans in segregated communities began sit-ins to protest against “whites only” lunch counters in stores. Members of Pensacola’s NAACP Youth Council, some as young as 12 years old, took their stand against segregation by peacefully occupying lunch counter seats here and elsewhere in the city. Led by Rev. William C. Dobbins and the Pensacola Council of Ministers, the youth were trained in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of non-violence. Confronted by hecklers, they were physically and verbally harassed, and even arrested on falsified charges. The African American community raised bail money and support for the youth through rallies at churches all over Pensacola. The battle to integrate the city’s lunch counters lasted 707 days and involved non-violent tactics such as sit-ins, pickets, marches, and a selective buying campaign or boycott. Downtown stores lost 80% of their business because of the boycott, and lunch counters in the City of Pensacola integrated on March 12, 1962.

Erected 2014 by The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-841.)

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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is March 12, 1962.

Location. 30° 24.761′ N, 87° 12.925′ W. Marker is in Pensacola, Florida, in Escambia County. It is at the intersection of South Palafox Street and West Garden Street (Business U.S. 98), on the right when traveling south on South Palafox Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 South Palafox Street, Pensacola FL 32502, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Garden Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of the First Methodist Church of Pensacola/Site of the San Carlos Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); Pensacola's Catholic Presence (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); St. Michael’s Church (about 500 feet away); Chase Street (about 600 feet away); First Jewish House of Worship in Florida (about 800 feet away); Gen. Andrew Jackson Residence (approx. 0.2 miles away); Frank L. Mayes (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pensacola.

Also see . . . Sit-in protesters remember segregation. (Submitted on November 23, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)

Pensacola Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Marker looking north toward Garden Street. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, November 14, 2017

2. Pensacola Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Marker looking north toward Garden Street.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 30, 2017. It was originally submitted on November 23, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,517 times since then and 161 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 23, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.