Monson Motor Lodge
In the spring of 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to St Augustine. King had been invited by a local dentist, Dr. Robert Hayling, who was the leader of the civil rights movement in the city. King’s stay in St. Augustine was met with fearful opposition. On June 11, King was arrested on the steps of the Monson Motor Lodge for trespassing. He attempted to eat in the white-only restaurant and, after refusing to leave, was arrested on the behest of James ‘Jimmy’ Brock, the Monson’s manager.
King’s arrest at the Monson made national headlines and revived interest of the civil rights movement in Florida, just as King had intended. On June 18, a week after King’s arrest at the Monson, over fifty protestors showed up to downtown’s Monson Motor Lodge. Among them, Rabbi Israel S. Dresner and fifteen of his colleagues began a pray-in outside the Monson’s restaurant.
Brock, a deacon and member of the Ancient City Baptist Church for over fifty-five years, was furious. When police arrived, Brock pushed the demonstrating rabbis toward them to be arrested. Dr. King watched across the street.
As the scene in front of the restaurant consumed everyone’s attention, two activists, Al Lingo and J. T. Johnson, led a group of supporters to the Monson’s pool. Shouts and splashing water drew everyone's attention. Six men and a woman—white and black—swam together in the Monson’s segregated pool. The news cameras began rolling.
At this, James Brock lost control. He grabbed two gallons of muriatic acid and began pouring them into the pool, shouting that he would "burn [the protestors] out."
"I’m cleaning the pool," Brock continued, pouring every drop he could shake out of the drum into the water. His tactic had no effect on the protestors. A policeman—fully dressed, aside from his shoes—jumped in to drag them out.
Over 100 bystanders watched as the demonstrators were taken into custody. The arrest of Dresner and his fellow colleagues remains the largest mass-arrest of rabbis in United States history.
The following day, June 19, the incident at the Monson reached national headlines. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post featured the protest on their front pages--the same day the Senate was set to vote on the Civil Rights Act.
After a 54-day filibuster, the Senate passed the Civil Rights Act 73-27 and, on July 2, then-president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law.
Review Questions
Discussion Questions
Related Primary Sources
View more images of the Monson Pool event.
Read news coverage of the demonstration: "St. Augustine Arrests 15 Rabbis 22 Others," United Press International, June 18, 1964.
Examine the FBI Report covering Dr. King's arrest at the Monson.
Listen to oral histories with J.T. Johnson and Al Lingo about these events.
African American History Benchmarks
- SS.912.A.5.7 Examine the freedom movements that advocated for African Americans, latinos, Asians, and women.
- SS.912.A.7.5 Compare nonviolent and violent approaches utilized by groups (African Americans, women, Native Americans, Hispanics) to achieve civil rights.
- SS.912.A.4.11 Examine key events and peoples in Florida history as they relate to United States history.
- SS.912.A.7.5 Compare nonviolent and violent approaches utilized by groups (African Americans, women, Native Americans, Hispanics) to achieve civil rights.
- SS.912.A.7.7 Assess the building of coalitions between African Americans, whites, and other groups in achieving integration and equal rights.
Prepared by Casey Niebuhr, Digital Humanities Intern 2021; Mags Mullican, Public History Intern 2021.