Mimi Jones (activist)

Mimi Jones; born Mamie Nell Ford (May 4, 1947 – July 26, 2020) was an American civil rights activist who played a part in the St. Augustine movement during the 1960s. During the summer of 1964, she and other protesters staged a swim-in at a whites-only hotel swimming pool. The manager of the hotel, James Brock, poured muriatic acid into the water in an attempt to drive the protesters out of the pool. The subsequent photographs of Brock's actions were broadcast around the world and made the front pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post and many other newspaper publications.[1]

The events in St. Augustine would play a huge role in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Martin Luther King Jr., who was arrested during a sit-in for trying to eat a meal at that same hotel, in his memoir described St. Augustine as a "rock-bound bastion of segregation and discrimination."[2][3]

  1. ^ Smith, Harrison (29 July 2020). "Mimi Jones, civil rights activist in a historic St. Augustine swim-in, dies at 73". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  2. ^ DeVoe, Amanda. "The Ripple Effect: How the impact of the historic St. Augustine 'Swim-In' still echoes today". News4JAX. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  3. ^ King, Martin Luther; Carson, Clayborne (2001). The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr (1. trade ed.). New York: IPM, Intellectual Properties Management. p. 239. ISBN 0446676500.