
06/11/2025
On June 11, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in St. Augustine on the steps of the Monson Motor Lodge.
"We have some dear white friends here who are with us, and we want to eat together," King told the owner of the segregated restaurant. This peaceful insistence earned him a trip to St. Johns County Jail–the ONLY time he was arrested in Florida.
Of course, this act of civil disobedience was a strategic move. King was putting a national spotlight on segregation to help push the stalled Civil Rights Act forward. His arrest and subsequent protests in St. Augustine shocked the country and galvanized support for the legislation, which passed just weeks later.
The Monson Motor Lodge is no more. But, the original steps where King stood have been thankfully preserved by the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront (you can see them outside the building), and the original sign can be found in the Accord Freedom Trail & Civil Rights Museum of St. Augustine. Both are powerful reminders of the impact St. Augustine had on the Civil Rights Movement.