About the Author

Rodney Hurst joined the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP at the invitation of Rutledge Pearson, the Youth Council's advisor. He was eleven. The uniqueness about his joining was that Pearson was also Hurst's eighth grade American History teacher and the invitation came in the classroom. Hurst considers meeting Rutledge Pearson and subsequently joining the NAACP as having one of the greatest impacts on his life.

Born in Jacksonville in 1944, Hurst later became President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP in 1959, and led the Youth Council's sit-in demonstrations in the summer of 1960. Those demonstrations culminated in the now infamous "Ax Handle Saturday" when 200 white segregationists with ax handles and baseball bats, attacked 35 members of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP, in downtown Jacksonville. Though lunch counter sit-in and other demonstrations were very visible in 1960, Mr. Hurst is quick to point out that demonstrations were about "...human dignity and respect. Lunch counters were just visible and convenient vestiges to attack racial discrimination."

In addition to his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Hurst's years of service in the Jacksonville Community include, but are not limited, to the following:

• He served on the Jacksonville City Council for two four-year terms.
• He is one of the first thirteen national recipients of Corporation for Public Broadcasting Fellowships;
• He is the first Black to co-host a television talk show in Jacksonville;
• He was the first Black male hired by the Prudential Insurance Company South Central Home Office;
• He served more than 4 years as the Executive Director of the State of Florida’s Construction Industry Licensing Board; and
• He served as the first African-American President of the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies.

Hurst is the recipient of numerous recognitions and awards. He is a member of the Bethel Baptist Institutional Church where he actively serves in the Fine Arts Ministry. He and his wife Ann have been married for 41 years. They have two sons, Todd and Rodney, and two granddaughters, Marquiette and Jasmine. His hobbies are Oldies and Motown music, and he spends what he calls quality time, as an "Oldies" DJ.

About KiJas Group Inc.

Thank you for visiting our "It was never about a hotdog and a Coke®!" web site sponsored by the KiJas Group Inc.

What is KiJas you ask?
Ann and I have two granddaughters- Marquiette (Kita) and Jasmine (Jas), so, "Ki" from Kita-and "Jas" from Jasmine-thus, KiJas.

Bet you thought it was Latin.

Book Details

Hardcover & Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: WingSpan Press (January 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-159594-195-4 (Soft Cover)
ISBN: 978-159594-201-2 (Hard Cover)