JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival VIII is proud to present an icon of the Civil Rights movement, Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. at the Jessie Ball DuPont Center on Saturday, October 16th. He will read from and discuss his book Never Forget Who You Are: Conversations About Racism and Identity Development, co-written with Rudy F. Jamison, Jr. Ed.D., who will also read and speak.

Here is Hurst’s bio:

Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. is a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, a widower, a cancer survivor, a civil rights activist, a Black historian, a United States Air Force veteran, and the author of three award-winning 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.

Hurst, a native of Jacksonville, and a 1960 high school graduate of segregated Northwestern Junior-Senior High School in Jacksonville, Florida, was the sixteen-year-old President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP and was one of the leaders of the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in downtown Jacksonville. His book, It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! is about the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP 1960 Sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday. Due to the black-out by the local news media about these important civil rights events in Jacksonville, his firsthand account book is the only documented and historically accurate descriptions of those sit-ins and the violence of Ax Handle Saturday. It was never about a hot dog and a Coke®! is the winner of many awards.

His second award-winning 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 Jacksonville Civil Rights History, and relates stories of the historical fight against Racism. 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, Readers View Nonfiction “Book of the Year” AND “Grand Prize” winner, 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 Mr. Hurst’s eyes and Dr. Jamison’s eyes.

In addition to his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Hurst served two four-year terms on the Jacksonville City Council, and 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; he was the first Black male hired at the Prudential South Central Home Office in Jacksonville, Florida; and he was 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, and the recipient of a number of awards. He speaks extensively on Civil Rights, Black History, and Racism.

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 are the parents of Everly Ann, his first great-grand. His youngest granddaughter Jasmine is a graduate of the Alvin Ailey School of Dance and lives in New York. He worships at First Baptist Church of Oakland, in Jacksonville, and The Bethel Church, in Jacksonville.