Photos from the 60th anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday.
Rodney Hurst, one of the organizers of the 1960 Jacksonville sit-ins, addresses the crowd.
John Aloszka
Ebony Payne-English performs a spoken word piece about the former Hemming Park.
John Aloszka
A woman walks with a Black Lives Matter sign.
John Aloszka
Councilman Sam Newby gives a passionate speech about his mother visiting his office for the first time. City Hall was formerly a segregated department store building.
John Aloszka
Artists Shawana Brooks and Roosevelt Watson sit in the socially-distanced crowd.
John Aloszka
Keedron Bryant sings "I Just Want to Live," his song about violence against Black people.
John Aloszka
Marjorie Meeks Brown, the former secretary of the 1960 Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP addresses the crowd via zoom.
John Aloszka
Members of the National Park Service visited James Weldon Johnson Park for the commemoration.
John Aloszka
Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson addresses the crowd.
John Aloszka
Rodney Hurst reads a statement by Vice President Joe Biden.
John Aloszka
Hope McMath, curator of the Yellow House Art Gallery, presents art inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and Ax Handle Saturday.
John Aloszka
Peace keepers roamed the park.
John Aloszka
The crowd braved the heat to participate in the commemoration. Speakers, elected officials, and the elderly sat under tents, while others socially distanced in the park.