Discussing Jacksonville's Black Leaders, Lawyers, and Lawmakers

From the Lodge to the Courtroom

At our next History Chat, Jerry Urso will discuss how Black lawyers, lawmakers, and Prince Hall Masons carved a path through slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and into the modern struggle for civil rights with an emphasis on Jacksonville leaders. Join us from 2 - 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, in the Map Room on the fourth floor of the Main Library. An audience Q&A will follow the presentation.

Learn from Jerry Urso

This History Chat is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and is part of a series of programs exploring and collecting African American history.

About Our Guest Speaker

Jerry Urso is the grand historian for The Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge of Florida and a member of the Jacksonville Historical Society and Florida Historical Society. He was awarded the Joseph A. Walkes award for his work on Prince Hall Masons and the Civil Rights Movement. He was also a panelist for the Civil Rights Timeline for the City of Jacksonville and Lavilla Historian for the Downtown Investment Authority. 

About the Prince Hall Masons

Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest African American fraternal organization in the United States. The Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge of Florida, located at 410 Broad Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202, is the order's main headquarters in the state. Established in 1870, it supports over 3,000 members and it manages other local Prince Hall lodges. Members of the Jacksonville Grand Lodge played a large part in the local civil rights movement, including helping to desegregate local streetcars in 1905.

Continue Reading

1. Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen Carter
2. Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
3. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
4. To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville by Robert Cassanello
5. African-American Life in Jacksonville by Herman Mason
6. Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff in the Deep South by Nathaniel Glover
7. It was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke! A Personal Account of the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida and Ax Handle Sunday by Rodney L. Hurst
8. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944 by J. Clay Smith
9. Slavery in Florida: Territorial days to Emancipation by Larry E. Rivers
10. The African-American Heritage of Florida

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Free Online Access to Jacksonville History

Jacksonville Public Library has expanded its digital newspaper collections through NewsBank Inc., giving library patrons free online access to three local newspaper archives that help document Jacksonville history, community life and regional change across more than a century.

The collections include the Florida Times-Union Historical and Current Collection, with coverage from 1883 through today; The Beaches Leader Historical and Current Collection, with coverage from 1963 through today; and the Jacksonville Journal Historical Archive, which spans 1901 to 1988.

You can view full newspaper pages as originally printed, including original layouts, graphics, photographs, captions, editorials, cartoons, advertisements and more.  

Access online for free with a valid library card.

Rediscover major events that shaped Jacksonville such as:

• 1901: The Great Fire destroys much of downtown Jacksonville and reshapes the city’s future.
• 1926–1928: Florida’s land-boom bust ends a major growth era.
• 1940–1945: World War II and the Navy reshape Jacksonville.
• 1960: Ax Handle Saturday marks a turning point in the civil-rights era.
• 1964: Hurricane Dora becomes Jacksonville’s benchmark storm.
• 1986: Mayo Clinic opens and boosts Jacksonville’s medical prominence.
• 1993: Jacksonville lands the Jaguars.
• 1993: River City Renaissance launches major redevelopment.
• 1999: Cecil Field closes, signaling major transition.
• 2005: Super Bowl XXXIX elevates Jacksonville’s profile as a sports town.
• 2017: Hurricane Irma causes record flooding.
• 2024: The city and Jaguars approve a new stadium deal.

Note: The Historical Newspapers: Black Newspapers online database provides easily-searchable access to a historical newspaper collection covering 1893 – 2010 that includes first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Access to this database is made possible through the generosity of the Mellon Foundation.