TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The next time you visit the North Florida Fairgrounds, you might notice a new historical marker right at the entrance.
That marker, placed Tuesday, commemorates the site's significance in one of Florida's and the nation's largest student-led, jail-in demonstrations during the Civil Rights Movement.
Hundreds of students were arrested in September of 1963 for participating in a string sit-in demonstrations and protests at the Woolworth's and McCrory's lunch counters in Tallahassee.
So many students in fact, the jails overflowed, and many were jailed at the Fairgrounds in the closed pens where livestock was also kept.
"Today, we captured their heroic efforts and that we might know the sacredness of this ground, the sacredness of this property so that we know that it will stand as a place for courage in the sincere sacrifice of most of FAMU's students at that time who placed themselves in harm's way," said Leon County commissioner Bill Proctor.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson, and a representative from FAMU's Student Government Association all presented at Tuesday's ceremony.
