Jacksonville moves to market, monetize its civil rights history

Wednesday saw the first meeting of Jacksonville’s new “civil rights history task force,” a 28-person group that seeks to affirm — or more correctly, to promote and monetize — the city’s place in civil rights history.

The genesis of the task force was earlier this year, when locals were irked by the city not being included on the U.S. Civil Rights Heritage Trail, which covers 14 states and 100 landmarks, made notable between 1955 and 1968.

Co-chair Warren Jones noted that inclusion on the trail would be a potential boost to tourism, kicking off an occasionally spirited discussion among the sprawling group that was as much a marketing 101 class as a historical discussion.

Council President Anna Brosche, who filed the legislation to form the task force, noted that Jacksonville’s “rich history” mandates that Jacksonville be on the Heritage Trail and that despite the large board, others wanted to be on it.

“Of the 18 inductees to Florida’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame, six of them are from Jacksonville,” Brosche noted.

Task force member Monica Smith, also of Visit Jacksonville, noted that the states involved are part of Travel South USA, which “markets the south for tourism efforts.”

The civil rights trail concept kicked off in Alabama, Smith said, with other Travel South USA states signing on to the idea, which is intended to educate young people regarding the civil rights struggle from generations gone by.

“Visit Florida is not a member of the Travel South USA organization,” Smith said.

She called Ken Lawson of Visit Florida, and learned that the process would be longer than she thought given the genesis of the civil rights trail concept; however, future destinations may be added as early as next year.

“Visit Florida is going to do what they need to do to become part of Travel South USA,” Smith said, and will support local efforts.

At least one board member was “irritated” by what he perceived to be an “audition period” and “hoops to jump through” for the trail, noting that Florida has as much civil rights history as anywhere.

Smith noted that Jacksonville or the state could form its own program, a parallel to the “marketing effort” of the Travel South USA affiliates.

Chairman Warren Jones suggested engaging state legislators to this end, with a potential local “black heritage trail” as a corollary option, even as other board members noted the irony of cities that tried to suppress civil rights now looking to profit off the commemoration of the struggle.

A member of the city planning department offered a lengthy recitation of a timeline from 1945 to the early 1970s; once he wrapped, board members thanked him for reading, then said significant revisions would be needed.

The board will meet biweekly through June 13.