JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — August 27 marks the anniversary of one of the darkest days in Jacksonville's history. It was 65 years ago when the brutal attack became known as "Ax Handle Saturday.”

“We did not sit in to eat a hotdog and drink a beverage, we sat in as a demonstration of our black human dignity and respect and against the vestiges of racism in downtown Jacksonville."

It was August 27, 1960, a day that became one of Jacksonville’s darkest and a day Dr. Rodney Hurst would never forget

“Mr. Pearson got a call that morning saying there was some strange goings on at Hemming Park, now James Weldon Johnson park,” Hurst said. "He saw white males in confederate uniforms passing out ax handles."

At just 16 years old, Hurst was the president of the Jacksonville youth council NAACP and the gr

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