St. Augustine Footsoldiers Monument
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Unveiled on May 14th, 2011
4 foot - 8 inches in width. 6 foot - 4 inch in height.
Traditional cast bronze on a cast-stone base.
One of a kind.
 
 
Who Were They?(in brief)
They numbered over 100 and advanced the cause of civil rights in the city of St. Augustine, FL in 1963 and 1964, many at great personal cost. Their story is triumphant and haunting. They called themselves "foot soldiers".
 
 
Where is It?
The sculpture is permanently installed in a public park named the "Plaza De La Constitucion", in historic downtown St. Augustine, FL. It is in the Southeast corner of the Plaza near the intersection of King Street and Charlotte Street.
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  What Happened?
Black Swan is an account of the Foot Soldiers in St. Augustine set against the larger national events of the times.
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image of swan
 
 
A Short Video
Produced as part of class work by students at Flagler College: Editing by Steven Strait, footage by Kelley Cottrell, Nicholas Massie, Kenneth Moore and Joshua Santos.
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Making and Unveiling the Sculpture
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memorial in clay
 
 
Photo Gallery of the Unveiling
on SPOTTED, photos courtesy of The St. Augustine Record.
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photo gallery
 
 
An Interview on Public Radio
Foot Soldier Barbara H. Vickers and Brian R. Owens talk about the monument on "Floida Frontiers".
Look for EPISODE 95 after you click below.
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Florida Historical Society
 
 
An Interview on TV
Foot Soldier Barbara H. Vickers and Brian R. Owens talk about the monument on "Floida Frontiers TV".
EPISODE 2 - Everday People Making History
Owens starts at 14 min, 50 sec into the 27 min episode
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Florida Historical Society
 
  The Group that Commissioned It
(The following text is barrowed directly from materials developed by the St. Augustine Foot Soldiers Remembrance Project)

The St. Augustine Foot Soldiers Remembrance Project, Inc., a non-profit 501 (c)3, was founded to establish a monument in the Plaza de la Constitucion, honoring the men, women and children who were the driving force in St. Augustine's Civil Rights movement, which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Project President Barbara Vickers:
"Those whose struggled in 1963 and 1964 in our city included young teens who stayed in jail when they could have left if they promised not to march again. There were many more, too, who waded in at the beaches, kneeled in at the churches, sat in at the lunch counters, and did a lot more. None should be forgotten."

"All these folks were Foot Soldiers for freedom and justice for all. And look what they helped to pass: the Civil Rights Act of 1964."


ST.AUGUSTINE FOOT SOLDIERS REMEMRANCE PROJECT,INC.
Box 164, St. Augustine, FL 32085
phone 904-829-5649

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Barbara H. Vickers
Vice President Barbara H. Kalanik
secretary Cynthia C. McAuliffe
Treasurer Salley V. Gardner

ADVISORS
George Gardner, former Mayor & former City Commissioner
David Nolan, Historian
Enzo Torcoletti, Sculptor
 
 
 
  Links to Additional
Historical Information
by Brian R. Owens

The major events of the Movement in St. Augustine in 1963 and 1964 were largly eclipsed by earlier events in larger cities, especially Birmingham Alabama, which were recorded more thoroughly, by more people. Consequently, recent comprehensive books on the Movement (like "Eyes on the Prize" by Juan Williams) list St. Augustine as a footnote.

"Dare Not Walk Alone" is a most impressive documentary film about the Movement in St. Augustine, the only one known to the author.

Dare Not Walk Alone - an award-winning independent feature-length documentary film

Most of the other historical accounts are available online at the following web sites:

The 40th Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations, Inc. (40th ACCORD)

Civil Rights Movement Veterans Homepage - CORE, NAACP, SCLC, SNCC

Civil Rights Movement Veterans - St. Augustine FL Movement 1963

Civil Rights Movement Veterans - St. Augustine FL Movement 1964

"If It Takes All Summer", by Dan R. Warren

The St. Augustine Record - Civil Rights Leader Visits, by Marcia Lane, Feb. 2010

St. Augustine, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Augustine Foot Soldiers Monument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There goes my Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights (page 198), by Jason Sokol
 
 
 
About the Sculptor

Photo image of Brian R Owens

Brian R. Owens is a second-generation professional artist; a sculptor and painter, schooled in the methods and materials of classical, traditional fine art. Owens' studio is based in central Florida about half an hour north of the Orlando metro area.

For more information, call Owens directly at 386-956-1724 anytime after 10 AM Eastern time. Click on the link below to review his online biography and resume.

CLICK HERE to review Owens' biography and resume

CLICK HERE to see more Sculpture

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