177 Twine Street

Note: This is a private residence. If you plan to visit this site to view the historical marker, be respectful.

The St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement

The St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement took place throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the most intense years being 1963 and 1964 (when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC joined the efforts).

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957, the SCLC is a Civil Rights organization. During the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, they organized demonstrations against systemic injustice throughout the USA. Dr. King and hundreds of activists who worked for the SCLC visited various cities — mostly in the South — and supported local peaceful protests, strengthening them with organization and media attention. 

To this day, the SCLC is still active, operating from its main headquarters in Atlanta. 

During and after the 1960s, Mrs. Plummer was the secretary of the SCLC's Florida headquarters, contributing vital work to the organization of hundreds of activists' travel and demonstrations. Mrs. Loucille Plummer was fired from her nursing job at Flagler Hospital as punishment for her activities in the St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement.

Along with her administration duties, Mrs. Plummer also invited out-of-town activists into her family home at 177 Twine Street. Many were students from northern universities.

Mrs. Peabody in St. Augustine

The Plummers also hosted Mrs. Mary Parkman Peabody, a 72-year-old activist from Massachusetts. In the summer of 1964, Mrs. Peabody traveled here and used her affluent status (she was the mother of the Massachusetts governor at the time, and an Episcopal Bishop's wife) and White-ness to leverage media coverage for the St. Augustine Movement.

Ms. Peabody's notable arrest, alongside five local activists (Georgie Mae Reed, Rosa Phelps, Cuter Eubanks, Nellie Mitchell, and Lillian Twine Roberson), occurred on March 31, 1964, following a sit-in at the Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge.

Lingering Bigotry

In 1965, a year after the U.S. Supreme Court passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a local White supremacist group attempted to firebomb 177 Twine Street by throwing a beach ball full of kerosene underneath a nearby gas tank.

Fortunately, their plot failed and the Plummer family, as well as Gail Blattenburger (a tutor who was staying with them) survived.

Listen to Gail Blattenburger's retelling of the bombing attempt at 177 Twine St, from the NBC Voices of the Civil Rights Movement project.

Mrs. Loucille Plummer's Legacy

In July 2012, Mrs. Plummer was posthumously awarded the Dr. Robert B. Hayling Award of Valor during the 6th Annual ACCORD Freedom Trail Luncheon.

She is described as a "rock" of the local civil rights movement, risking life and limb for the cause.

Resources

Tap the blue underlined text to view the following online resources.

Online Resources

177 Twine Street marker text, from the ACCORD Freedom Trail website.

"A Firebombing Incident," interview with Gail Blattenberger, from NBC.

July 2012 ACCORD Newsletter, describing the 6th Annual Freedom Trail Luncheon.

1965 letter to Loucille Plummer, from St. Johns County Superintendent W. Douglas Hartley.

"More than half a century later, man remembers St. Augustine photo" 2018 article, from The Florida Times Union, featuring Mrs. Plummer's son, Eric James.

Further Reading

St. Augustine, Florida, 1963-1964: Mass Protest and Racial Violence, edited by David Garrow, 1989.