Audrey Nell Edwards is an African-American civil rights activist, best known for her participation in the

St. Augustine movement The St. Augustine movement was a part of the wider Civil Rights Movement, taking place in St. Augustine, Florida from 1963 to 1964. It was a major event in the city's long history and had a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ...

in 1963.

Early life

Audrey Nell Edwards grew up in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

Activism

St. Augustine Four

On July 18, 1963, a group of seven teenagers — including the group of four teens who would later be known as the St. Augustine Four: Edwards, 16, JoeAnn Anderson, 15, Willie Carl Singleton, 16, and Samuel White, 14, entered a

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses Australia and New Zealand * Woolworths Group (Australia), the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth company, but unrelated * W ...

store in

. The teens were members of the

NAACP Youth Council The NAACP Youth Council is a branch of the NAACP in which youth are actively involved. In past years, council participants organized under the council's name to make major strides in the Civil Rights Movement. Started in 1935 by Juanita E. Jackso ...

and had been engaging in sit-ins at downtown St. Augustine lunch counters, advised by Dr. Robert Hayling. At Woolworth's, the seven teens were arrested for attempting to order hamburgers at the segregated lunch counter. Judge Charles Mathis offered release to the teens if their parents were willing to sign documentation stating that the teens would refrain from protests until their respective 21st birthdays. If the documents were not signed, then the teens would remain incarcerated and would then be sent to reform school. Three of those arrested agreed to these terms and were released. The four teens — Edwards, Anderson, Singleton, and White — urged their parents not to sign the documents, and were kept in jail with adults, as no juvenile facilities were available. Earl Johnson, a lawyer for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, attempted to secure their release, but a local judge moved the activists to reform schools. Singleton and White were sent to the infamous

Florida School for Boys The Florida School for Boys, also known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (AGDS), was a reform school operated by the state of Florida in the panhandle town of Marianna from January 1, 1900, to June 30, 2011.Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College, part of the state's public system. The official nickname of Marianna is "The City of Southern Charm". The population was 6,24 ...

; Edwards and Anderson were sent to the Florida School for Girls in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

. At the reform schools, the physical work was the norm. Finally, in response to national protests, Florida governor

Cecil Farris Bryant Cecil Farris Bryant (July 26, 1914 – March 1, 2002) was an American politician serving as the List of governors of Florida, 34th governor of Florida. He also served on the United States National Security Council as director of the Office of ...

and his cabinet issued a special action for the teenagers' release January 14, 1964. The case of the St. Augustine Four caught the attention of other civil rights organizers across the country, including

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

When Dr. King visited St. Augustine, Edward met with the Civil Rights giant and joined him at the Monson Motor Lodge on June 11. Both King and Edwards were arrested; Edwards was charged with "breach of peace, trespassing with malicious intent, and conspiracy." Shortly after this experience, Edwards met

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

, who invited her and Anderson to his and his wife Rachel Robinson's home in Connecticut. The two teens spent three weeks with the Robinsons, visiting New York City sites and also the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

. Edwards long believed that the arrest record resulting from her activism barred her from employment in St. Augustine. In 2004, Edwards attended a ceremony at St. Augustine's First Baptist Church in honor of the St. Augustine Four's contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. Edwards is currently the last surviving member of the St. Augustine Four.

Legacy

Edwards's house at 650 Julia Street in West Augustine, built for her in 2008 by

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

, is now a site on the ACCORD Freedom Trail. St. Augustine Civil Rights activism, including lunch counter sit-ins, was fictionalized by author Judy Lindquist in the 2018 book ''Forcing Change'', published by the Florida Historical Society Press. The story of the St. Augustine Four is also featured in the

University Press of America University Press of America (''UPA'') is the former name of an American Academic publishing, academic publishing company based in Lanham, Maryland, which became the parent company of Rowman & Littlefield publishing house, then was later re-intr ...

book ''Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement and Thereafter'', edited by Dorothy M. Singleton.

References

External links

Oral history interview conducted with Audrey Nell Hamilton and JoeAnn Anderson Ulmer, 2011
part of the Civil Rights History Project,

American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife". The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the library in 1928 as a rep ...

The Black girl who defied segregation, inspiring MLK and Jackie Robinson, 2021
via ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''
Audrey Nell Edwards Hamilton Video Interview
Civil Rights Library of St. Augustine,

Flagler College Flagler College is a private university, private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. The school was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. It also had a Flagler College – Tallahassee Campus, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Audrey Nell Activists for African-American civil rights Year of birth missing American women civil rights activists