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. Pearson was Hurst's Eighth Grade American History teacher (and later his Ninth Grade Civics teacher) and the invitation came in the classroom. Hurst considers meeting Rutledge Pearson and subsequently joining the NAACP as having the greatest impacts on his life.

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 males 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, Hurst is quick to point out that demonstrations were about "...human dignity and respect. Lunch counters were just visible and convenient vestiges of segregation 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.

In addition to his numerous awards and recognitions, Hurst is the 2008 recipient of the Clanzel T. Brown Award along with Youth Council NAACP colleague Alton W. Yates. The Clanzel T. Brown Award is presented annually by the Jacksonville Urban league in honor of its late revered former Executive Director. Hurst is also featured for the month of August in the 2009 Black History Calendar presented by Florida Community College at Jacksonville.

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 more than 42 years. They have two sons, Rodney II and Todd, 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.

Links

View my page on Black Author Showcase

RAWSISTAZ Literary Group

The talented divas
Jasmine and Marquiette

Purchase the Book

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Signed Hard Cover - $29.91	Signed Soft Cover - $16.00

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It Was Never About a hotdog and a Coke®!, by Rodney Hurst, chronicles the 1960 sit in demonstrations in Jacksonville Florida and Ax Handle Saturday

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)