08/31/2026
8/27 Today in Florida History from the Florida Historical Society!
1960 – “Ax Handle Saturday” occurred in Jacksonville on this date. Sit-ins began two weeks earlier when students asked to be served at the segregated lunch counters at Woolworths, Morrison's Cafeteria, and other eateries in the city. They were denied service and kicked, spit at, and addressed with racial slurs. This came to a head on Ax Handle Saturday. A group of 200 men (allegedly some were also members of the Ku Klux Klan) gathered in Hemming Park armed with baseball bats and ax handles. They attacked the protesters conducting sit-ins. The violence spread, and the white mob started attacking all African-Americans in sight. The "Boomerangs" (a black street gang) attempted to protect the demonstrators. Police, who had not intervened when the protesters were attacked, now became involved, arresting members of the Boomerangs and other black residents who attempted to stop the beatings. The events were reported in “Life” Magazine and newspapers in Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, and New York. Reporters from the “Florida Times-Union” and the “Jacksonville Journal” were not allowed to cover the events.
