Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr., is a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, a widower, a cancer survivor, a civil rights activist, a Black historian, and a United States Air Force veteran. He is also the award-winning author of three books, "It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®!" A personal account of the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida, and Ax Handle Saturday; "Unless WE Tell It…It Never Gets Told!"; and "Never Forget Who You Are: Conversations about Racism and Identity Development," which he co-authored with Dr. Rudy F. Jamison Jr.
It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! recounts with clarity the segregated civic, the segregated political, and the segregated educational climate of Jacksonville Florida in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Hurst, a native of Jacksonville and a 1960 high school graduate of segregated Northwestern Junior-Senior High School in Jacksonville, was the sixteen-year-old President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP and was one of the leaders of the 1960 sit-in demonstrations. He tells the real history of the bloody events of August 27, 1960, when 200 whites with ax handles and baseball bats attacked members of the Jacksonville, Florida Youth Council NAACP who were demonstrating peaceably at White lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville; and also attacked anyone Black in downtown Jacksonville. The press calls that day Ax Handle Saturday. Due to the “blackout” of news during those days of segregation, Hurst’s book detailing his eyewitness account is the only historically accurate description of the 1960 Jacksonville sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday.
It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! is the winner of more than a dozen awards, including the USA National Best Books Awards national book competition First Place Gold Medal Award for Multicultural Nonfiction, the Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal in Nonfiction, The Sabrina Best Book Awards for Non-Fiction national book competition, and the Independent Publisher’s Silver Medal for Best Regional Non-Fiction book competition. His book was also recognized by the Florida Historical Society with its First Annual Stetson Kennedy Award.
Hurst’ second book “Unless WE Tell It…It Never Gets Told!” published in January 2016 relates stories of notable Blacks of Jacksonville who impacted this city and the country, relates stories of America’s Black History, and relates stories of the historical fight against Racism. It was one of five finalists for the 2016 Multicultural Non-Fiction Award by the National Best Books Awards national book competition; and the 2017 Jacksonville Historical Preservation Commission Award.
The documentary, Ax Handle Saturday: 50 Years Later, is based on his book.
Hurst’s leadership as a teenager during the Civil Rights Movement is also the subject of a chapter in the Scholastic book, Ten True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes written for Third Graders to Seventh Graders and ages 8 to 12.
His most recent book, Never Forget Who You Are: Conversations about Racism and Identity Development, which he co-authored with Dr. Rudy F. Jamison Jr., discusses Racism and identity development through his eyes and Dr. Jamison's eyes. The national website and book reviewer Readers View chose "Never Forget Who You Are" as its 2021 Nonfiction "Book of the Year" and 2021 Grand Prize Winner.
Hurst serves as an adviser to the Center for Urban Education and Policy at the University of North Florida and is the Historian of the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP.
In addition to his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Hurst served two four-year terms on the Jacksonville City Council. He is responsible for a number of "firsts" in the Jacksonville Community: he was one of the thirteen original national recipients of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Television Fellowships; he was the first Black to co-host a television talk show in Jacksonville on PBS Channel WJCT; the first Black male hired at the Prudential South Central Home Office in Jacksonville, Florida; and the first Black to serve as the Executive Director of the State of Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board. A Silver Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Hurst is involved with several Boards and Agencies in the Jacksonville Community.
Hurst periodically teaches a Black History, Civil Rights, and Racism Class in the University of North Florida’s OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) Program. He also teaches a class on old school music, specifically Classic Old School R&B and Classic Motown. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Hurst served on the Jacksonville Civil Rights Task Force and chaired the Sub-Committee on the Civil Rights timeline for Jacksonville, which the Jacksonville City Council codified. Hurst speaks extensively on Civil Rights, Black History, and Racism. He was the featured speaker for the City of Jacksonville's 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast; the Nassau County Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast; the Brevard County NAACP Branch Freedom Fund Dinner; and the City of Deltona's Black History Luncheon. In addition, he was the keynote speaker at the Induction Ceremony of Harriette and Harry T. Moore into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.
Hurst nominated his mentor and civil rights icon Rutledge H. Pearson and his longtime friend and civil rights icon Dr. Arnett Girardeau to the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Pearson was inducted posthumously in 2016, and Dr. Girardeau was inducted in June 2017—four months before his passing.
Hurst nominated his mentor and civil rights icon Rutledge H. Pearson and his longtime friend and civil rights icon Dr. Arnett Girardeau to the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Pearson was inducted posthumously in 2016, and Dr. Girardeau was inducted in June 2017—four months before his passing.
Hurst is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Alumni Association of Bethune-Cookman University's Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Visionary Award; the Jacksonville Urban League's Clanzel T. Brown Award; the National Alumni Association of Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University's Outstanding Alumnus Award; the President of the Jacksonville Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President's Award; the Stetson Kennedy Foundation's "Fellow Man and Mother Earth" Award; the Jacksonville OneJax "Silver Medallion Humanitarian" Award; the Jacksonville Branch NAACP Willye F. Dennis Award; and the Jacksonville Bar Association's "Liberty Bell" Award.
Hurst and his late wife Ann (June 24, 1945-September 5, 2016) would have celebrated their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary on December 10, 2016. Hurst has two sons, Rodney II (Vandlyn) and Todd. Rodney II is the father of two daughters, Marquiette (Mar-Kita) and Jasmine. Hurst's eldest granddaughter Marquiette and her husband Kyle Dorrell are the parents of Everly Ann, Hurst's first great-grand. His youngest granddaughter Jasmine is a graduate of the Alvin Ailey Dance School in New York, where she works and lives. He worships at First Baptist Church of Oakland.
It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! recounts with clarity the segregated civic, the segregated political, and the segregated educational climate of Jacksonville Florida in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Hurst, a native of Jacksonville and a 1960 high school graduate of segregated Northwestern Junior-Senior High School in Jacksonville, was the sixteen-year-old President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP and was one of the leaders of the 1960 sit-in demonstrations. He tells the real history of the bloody events of August 27, 1960, when 200 whites with ax handles and baseball bats attacked members of the Jacksonville, Florida Youth Council NAACP who were demonstrating peaceably at White lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville; and also attacked anyone Black in downtown Jacksonville. The press calls that day Ax Handle Saturday. Due to the “blackout” of news during those days of segregation, Hurst’s book detailing his eyewitness account is the only historically accurate description of the 1960 Jacksonville sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday.
It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! is the winner of more than a dozen awards, including the USA National Best Books Awards national book competition First Place Gold Medal Award for Multicultural Nonfiction, the Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal in Nonfiction, The Sabrina Best Book Awards for Non-Fiction national book competition, and the Independent Publisher’s Silver Medal for Best Regional Non-Fiction book competition. His book was also recognized by the Florida Historical Society with its First Annual Stetson Kennedy Award.
Hurst’ second book “Unless WE Tell It…It Never Gets Told!” published in January 2016 relates stories of notable Blacks of Jacksonville who impacted this city and the country, relates stories of America’s Black History, and relates stories of the historical fight against Racism. It was one of five finalists for the 2016 Multicultural Non-Fiction Award by the National Best Books Awards national book competition; and the 2017 Jacksonville Historical Preservation Commission Award.
The documentary, Ax Handle Saturday: 50 Years Later, is based on his book.
Hurst’s leadership as a teenager during the Civil Rights Movement is also the subject of a chapter in the Scholastic book, Ten True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes written for Third Graders to Seventh Graders and ages 8 to 12.
His most recent book, Never Forget Who You Are: Conversations about Racism and Identity Development, which he co-authored with Dr. Rudy F. Jamison Jr., discusses Racism and identity development through his eyes and Dr. Jamison's eyes. The national website and book reviewer Readers View chose "Never Forget Who You Are" as its 2021 Nonfiction "Book of the Year" and 2021 Grand Prize Winner.
Hurst serves as an adviser to the Center for Urban Education and Policy at the University of North Florida and is the Historian of the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP.
In addition to his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Hurst served two four-year terms on the Jacksonville City Council. He is responsible for a number of "firsts" in the Jacksonville Community: he was one of the thirteen original national recipients of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Television Fellowships; he was the first Black to co-host a television talk show in Jacksonville on PBS Channel WJCT; the first Black male hired at the Prudential South Central Home Office in Jacksonville, Florida; and the first Black to serve as the Executive Director of the State of Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board. A Silver Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Hurst is involved with several Boards and Agencies in the Jacksonville Community.
Hurst periodically teaches a Black History, Civil Rights, and Racism Class in the University of North Florida’s OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) Program. He also teaches a class on old school music, specifically Classic Old School R&B and Classic Motown. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Hurst served on the Jacksonville Civil Rights Task Force and chaired the Sub-Committee on the Civil Rights timeline for Jacksonville, which the Jacksonville City Council codified. Hurst speaks extensively on Civil Rights, Black History, and Racism. He was the featured speaker for the City of Jacksonville's 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast; the Nassau County Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast; the Brevard County NAACP Branch Freedom Fund Dinner; and the City of Deltona's Black History Luncheon. In addition, he was the keynote speaker at the Induction Ceremony of Harriette and Harry T. Moore into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.
Hurst nominated his mentor and civil rights icon Rutledge H. Pearson and his longtime friend and civil rights icon Dr. Arnett Girardeau to the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Pearson was inducted posthumously in 2016, and Dr. Girardeau was inducted in June 2017—four months before his passing.
Hurst nominated his mentor and civil rights icon Rutledge H. Pearson and his longtime friend and civil rights icon Dr. Arnett Girardeau to the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Pearson was inducted posthumously in 2016, and Dr. Girardeau was inducted in June 2017—four months before his passing.
Hurst is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Alumni Association of Bethune-Cookman University's Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Visionary Award; the Jacksonville Urban League's Clanzel T. Brown Award; the National Alumni Association of Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University's Outstanding Alumnus Award; the President of the Jacksonville Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President's Award; the Stetson Kennedy Foundation's "Fellow Man and Mother Earth" Award; the Jacksonville OneJax "Silver Medallion Humanitarian" Award; the Jacksonville Branch NAACP Willye F. Dennis Award; and the Jacksonville Bar Association's "Liberty Bell" Award.
Hurst and his late wife Ann (June 24, 1945-September 5, 2016) would have celebrated their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary on December 10, 2016. Hurst has two sons, Rodney II (Vandlyn) and Todd. Rodney II is the father of two daughters, Marquiette (Mar-Kita) and Jasmine. Hurst's eldest granddaughter Marquiette and her husband Kyle Dorrell are the parents of Everly Ann, Hurst's first great-grand. His youngest granddaughter Jasmine is a graduate of the Alvin Ailey Dance School in New York, where she works and lives. He worships at First Baptist Church of Oakland.
