of life in West Augustine.“ We are currently working on a medical complex,” shares White. They were able to secure $ 5 million from St. Johns County to build the 14,000-square-foot complex. The builder, architect and engineers for the project are in place, and the design phase is now underway. Epic Behavioral Health will also have a presence at the facility to provide services for those dealing with substance abuse and mental health challenges.
A Putnam County native, White grew up fishing and swimming almost daily with his brother, John. By his teens, he was living in St. Augustine. White remembers marching from Murray High School( now Murray Middle School) to the slave market, which is now known as the Plaza de la Constitución.“ My heart would race like it was going to come out of my chest,” White recalls. He felt like a grain of sand among the vastness of the Civil Rights movement. During those fateful marches, he sang a freedom song called“ We Shall Overcome” along with his peers. He sang in part: We’ ll walk hand in hand We shall live in peace.
St. Augustine was truly a small town in those days. The older generation risked losing their livelihood if they were seen marching with the young ones. During the marches, adults gathered in the teachers’ lounge at Murray High School to pray on behalf of the youth activists while they strode to the slave market.
Lincolnville is a stone’ s throw from the edge of West Augustine. The Freedman’ s Town began to be settled in 1866 by returning Civil War veterans and their families. It was the center of many demonstrations that eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Lincolnville was home to such figures of note as entrepreneur Frank Butler, Dr. Adolphus Gordon and Dr. Thomas G. Freeland. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself and representatives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference spent time in Lincolnville during the 1960s to hold strategic meetings with Dr. Robert Hayling- an activist who took the lead during the local Civil Rights Movement. Hayling marched shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Andrew Young, Barbara Vickers and the St. Augustine Foot Soldiers. He also served the community by running a dental practice at 79 Bridge Street.
Gayle Phillips is executive director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. She grew up in rural Mandarin, north of St. Augustine.“ As a child, we visited Butler Beach( the Black Beach), crabbed in the Guana
River and pulled oysters from the San Sebastián,” she shares with EVOLVE Magazine. After settling into St. Johns County and a brief stint in Alabama, Phillips and her husband returned to St. Augustine in 2010. Her first visit to the formerly-named Excelsior Museum was in 2015.“ I saw a place with a lot of character and history but in need of help. I actually said out loud,‘ Wow, this place needs help! What can I do?’” And so began Phillips’ journey of pivotal storytelling and restoration- which led her to her current role as museum director.
It is not lost on the St. Augustine community that Lincolnville has been touched by the double-edged sword of gentrification. Still, Phillips acknowledges that“ most of the long-term residents still attend community events and work to help preserve the legacy of Lincolnville as a heritage community.” For example, the Lincolnville CRA has secured institutional loans that fund emergency home repairs and the preservation of historic Black churches. On the one hand, increased property values have come with welcome funding for community reinvestment. Meanwhile, it is ironically becoming more difficult for young Black families to move to the area. The Lincolnville Museum shines a light on 500 years of the African American presence not only in St. Augustine but also in the United States at large. The museum recently enjoyed a new designation as it joined the National Park Service African American Civil Rights Network. They will soon file for inclusion in the Reconstruction Era Heritage Trail. Such affiliations will advance the proliferation of Lincolnville’ s story before audiences of state, regional and national historic leadership entities.
The face of St. Augustine is dynamically changing before our very eyes. The efforts of Gregory White, Gayle Phillips and their colleagues will help ensure that our beautiful city does not slip into an unrecognizable state. May its original fabric- its original color- forever remain part of the modern tapestry and that which is yet future.
Greg White
Teddy Regis holds degrees in English and Communication from Flagler College. He has worked as a sign language interpreter for seven years.
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