FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – The Florence community celebrates the 60th anniversary of one of the most important local civil rights events at a Florence County Museum ceremony. A historical marker was revealed Thursday in downtown Florence to honor protesters and their civil rights impact.
People in Florence reflect on a 1960’s moment that paved the way to who and what Florence has become today. Forty-eight protestors were arrested at the local Kress lunch counter here in downtown for parading without a permit.
“If you forget your history, you’ve forgotten a part of who you are,” Terry Alexander, State Rep. for District 59 in Florence said.
Sixty years later, protestors turned into heroes and continue to live out a testimony that is being remembered in the Florence community. “Remember where you’ve been, remembering how you got here, remember the courses you went through,” Alexander said.
The Kress counter was closed for nearly 10 years after the protest. The store reopened in the 1970s with equal service for whites and African Americans. The struggle from 48 protestors paved the way to change, Florence leaders said.
It was some of these men and women recognized Thursday night that made their mark in the civil rights movement. They marched and fought to sit at any lunch counter, any restaurant, with anyone.
“May the marker serve as a reminder that the 1960s era civil rights movement was not just an African American story but American history,” John Miller, Vice President of the NAACP Youth Branch in Florence and the organizer of the Kress lunch counter sit-in said.
Their history lives on today. As this historic landmark is revealed, history will live on for many years to come. “Because of what these committed individuals did back then, so many can do what we are doing now,” Alexander said.
The sign represents equal rights to all, and it’ll mean something different to everyone who walks by. “I just hope they stop, read it, reflect, and try to do better that day forward,” Ed Clemments III, the Florence County Solicitor said.
