# The Fight to End Segregation in Jacksonville
On Saturday, August 27, 1960, a violent attack occurred in Hemming Plaza (now known as James Weldon Johnson Park) against Black demonstrators participating in sit-in protests organized by the NAACP Youth Council at segregated lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville.
Alton Yates and his wife, Gwen, will share their personal stories from that day and the surrounding period, reflecting on their experiences as a newlywed couple and discussing the lasting impact of "Ax Handle Saturday." The two are also co-authors of new book, Living The Legacy: The Story of Alton and Gwen Yates, about their life in Jacksonville.
History Chat with Alton and Gwen Yates
At our next History Chat, local journalist and broadcaster Shelton Hull interviews Mr. and Mrs. Yates about the Civil Rights sit-ins that ended on Ax Handle Saturday. Join us from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, at the Downtown Main Library.
This program is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and is part of an ongoing series of free community programs exploring and collecting Local African American History.
Guests of Honor
Alton W. Yates is a Retired U.S. Air Force Officer, Lieutenant Colonel, native of Jacksonville’s LaVilla neighborhood, and a member of the New Stanton Class of 1954. He received national and international acclaim while serving in the U.S. Air Force and participating in aerospace research experiments. From September 1955 to October 1959, he rode high speed Rocket Sleds and participated in numerous Aerospace Research experiments designed to test the effects of space travel on the human body. These pre-NASA experiments were designed to pave the way for America’s first manned space flights.
In 2020, he was inducted into the "Florida Veterans Hall of Fame". He was featured in Ebony and Jet magazines in 1959 and cited by the U.S. Air Force for risking his life more than 65 times for science. Alton Yates is a former member of St. Vincent’s Health System Advisory Board and lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and the NAACP.
Gwen Yates is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville's Northside and has served two terms on Jacksonville's City Council. Yates had a 26 year career with the City of Jacksonville. During her tenure with the city, she spent 10 years as chief of the Adult Services Division. She also served as project director for the Jacksonville Senior Services Program, caseworker/juvenile counselor with the Child Services Division and was founder and the first director of what is now the Youth Crisis Center. Yates has an outstanding record of public service and community involvement receiving multiple awards and has been recognized for her work locally and nationally.
Guest interviewer Shelton Hull is a journalist and broadcaster who has written about arts, music, politics, sports and everything else for dozens of magazines, newspapers and websites in and around the state of Florida, including Folio Weekly, Orlando Weekly, PopRAD, Creative Loafing Tampa, Charleston City Papers, Atlantic Monthly, Void, Arbus, the Florida Times-Union, Mischief on the River and WJCT, where he helped create JME (the Jacksonville Music Experience) and write about politics for Jax Today. He co-founded the Section 8 crew in Jacksonville in 1999, and the Lake Shore in Chicago in 2002. He co-hosts The Contrast Project and Bold City Civics podcasts, while also appearing occasionally on First Coast Connect, and seemingly countless guest spots on local TV, podcasts around the country, and even CNN.
Learn More About Alton Yates
In 2023, author Chris Barton and Alton Yates had a conversation with local educator TiLena Robinson about Chris's book Moving Forward, a nonfiction children's book about Alton's roles in Space Age military experiments and in Jacksonville's 1960 civil rights sit-ins that culminated in Ax Handle Saturday. Catch the Lit Chat Interview on our YouTube playlist or listen to the audio-only replay on our Completely Booked podcast.
Keep Reading about Jacksonville History
- It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke!, By Rodney L. Hurst
- Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff in the Deep South, by Nathaniel Glover
- Jacksonville: The Consolidation Story, From Civil Rights to the Jaguars, by James B. Crooks
- The Culture Wars of Warren Folks, by Tim Gilmore
- A. Philip Randolph, Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, by Paula F. Pfeffer
- A Bold New Revolution: Jacksonville Before Consolidation
- The 14th Denial: A Civil Rights Memoir, by Cannie Lee Cody, Jr.
- Murder Capital, by Tim Gilmore
- Recollections of the Re-Birth of a City, by Homer Humphries
- Remembering Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida, by Mary F.M. Jameson
- Remembering Jacksonville: By the Wayside, by Dorothy Fletcher
- Jake! The Last Southern Populist Mayor Who Transformed Jacksonville..., By Mike Tolbert
Your Story is Special. Share it at the Library.
Do you have old photographs, personal papers, journals, manuscripts, scrapbooks, pamphlets, family Bibles, funeral programs, or any other material connected to the African American community, churches, civic organizations, or Black-owned businesses here in Northeast Florida? Jacksonville Public Library preserves, stores, and provides access to a variety of unique materials that would otherwise become lost or remain unavailable to the general public. Donate in person at the Main Library or email digital copies to SpecColl@coj.net.
Explore our growing African American Digital Community Archive including:
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More Local African American History
The Jacksonville neighborhood of Mixon Town (originally known as West Lewisville) was first established in the late 1880s. From its founding, the neighborhood attracted African Americans locally and from out of state and was the location of industry and small businesses. Like many neighborhoods, it has gone through a number of changes. Despite these changes, current and former residents have continued to stay in contact across the decades and are working toward shaping the future of Mixon Town. Today, sites such as the Oneida Bungalow Court are being restored and nonprofits such as the North Riverside CDC are supporting the interests of residents.
Forward Thinking (Panel Discussion): Mixon Town
Join us from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 30, at the Main Library to discuss the experience of current and former residents, the challenges of historic preservation (including the placement of historic markers), and plans for the future of Mixon Town with moderator Ennis Davis and panelists Spencer Fletcher, James and Pat Henry and Desiree' "Dee" Powell. An audience Q&A will follow the 40-minute panel discussion.
Note: This panel is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
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