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It Was Never About a Hotdog and a Coke! A Personal Account of the 1960 sit-in Demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida and AX Handle Saturday
On August 27, 1960, more than 200 whites with ax handles and baseball bats attacked members of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP in downtown Jacksonville who were sitting in at white lunch counters protesting racism and segregation. Referred to as Ax Handle Saturday, "It was never about a hot dog and a Coke" chronicles the racial and political climate of Jacksonville, Florida in the late fifties, the events leading up to that infamous day, and the aftermath.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
17 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Rodney L. Hurst Sr.
4 books9 followersWhen eleven-year old Rodney Hurst accepted his American History teacher invitation to join the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP, he could not have guessed at the enormous impact it would have on his life, Jacksonville history or the Civil Rights Movement. Hurst new book, It was never about a hot dog and a Coke, released in January, 2008, is subtitled A Personal Account of the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida and Ax Handle Saturday and recounts the events leading up to and the fallout from the bloody events of August 27, 1960.
www.rodneyhurst.com
www.rodneyhurst.com
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 27, 2020
August 27, 2020, will be the 60th anniversary of a horrific event in the history of Jacksonville, Fla.: Ax Handle Saturday.
Rodney Hurst was 16 years old when the event took place. He was president of his local NAACP Youth Council chapter; his elementary school history teacher, Rutledge Pearson was the adult advisor. Pearson encouraged Hurst to join the chapter at age 11. The students learned public speaking techniques and parliamentary procedure, as well as how to coordinate actions for civil rights.
Thus, Hurst and some of his fellow council members planned a sit-in at the local Woolworth lunch counter. Black people could shop at Woolworth with no problem, but they were expected to sit at a separate lunch counter located on the top story of the store next to the restroom. Reasoning that if they could pay for things on the first floor, they should also eat on the first floor, the students each went in and bought an item. That way, they would have receipts to prove that Woolworth had accepted their money. Then, they went to the lunch counter.
After a few sit-ins, where they were refused service, the local Klan got wind of the situation and planned a day when they would go beat Black people up, using baseball bats and ax handles that would be strategically placed for access. Local law enforcement turned a blind eye and shop owners locked their doors to prevent Black people from being able to escape the violence. White people who tried to help them were subject to similar abuses.
Hurst not only writes about that day but also about the aftermath, including a "selective buying campaign," as they called their boycott of downtown businesses that had closed their doors. Hurst also discusses his work with other civil rights leaders of the era, who listened to his experiences rather than dismissing him because of his youth.
As the title of the book points out, integrating the lunch counters (which did eventually happen in Jacksonville) was not about eating lunch but about pointing out the hypocrisy and ensuring equal access.
Highly recommended for those who wish to have a better understanding of the times, and of Black history beyond the more famous incidents and people.
Rodney Hurst was 16 years old when the event took place. He was president of his local NAACP Youth Council chapter; his elementary school history teacher, Rutledge Pearson was the adult advisor. Pearson encouraged Hurst to join the chapter at age 11. The students learned public speaking techniques and parliamentary procedure, as well as how to coordinate actions for civil rights.
Thus, Hurst and some of his fellow council members planned a sit-in at the local Woolworth lunch counter. Black people could shop at Woolworth with no problem, but they were expected to sit at a separate lunch counter located on the top story of the store next to the restroom. Reasoning that if they could pay for things on the first floor, they should also eat on the first floor, the students each went in and bought an item. That way, they would have receipts to prove that Woolworth had accepted their money. Then, they went to the lunch counter.
After a few sit-ins, where they were refused service, the local Klan got wind of the situation and planned a day when they would go beat Black people up, using baseball bats and ax handles that would be strategically placed for access. Local law enforcement turned a blind eye and shop owners locked their doors to prevent Black people from being able to escape the violence. White people who tried to help them were subject to similar abuses.
Hurst not only writes about that day but also about the aftermath, including a "selective buying campaign," as they called their boycott of downtown businesses that had closed their doors. Hurst also discusses his work with other civil rights leaders of the era, who listened to his experiences rather than dismissing him because of his youth.
As the title of the book points out, integrating the lunch counters (which did eventually happen in Jacksonville) was not about eating lunch but about pointing out the hypocrisy and ensuring equal access.
Highly recommended for those who wish to have a better understanding of the times, and of Black history beyond the more famous incidents and people.
September 22, 2025
I enjoyed reading this first hand account of Ax Handle Saturday and learning more about Jacksonville’s civil rights history!
August 7, 2020
I grew up in Jacksonville but only recently heard about "Ax Handle Saturday," a 1960 mass riot when a huge group of white segregationists used baseball bats and ax handles to beat young Blacks holding a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. The mob then attacked any Black person who happened to be in downtown Jacksonville. Police stood by and watched or arrested the Black protesters. The local white media refused to cover the story. A judge arrested Rodney Hurst, the author, of a spurious "delinquency" charge. Just a shocking incident and revealed the deep, systemic racism of Jacksonville at the time.
Hurst was the leader of the protest at just 16 years old (!!), and though the writing isn't great, the story stands as a hook on its own. The bravery of these young people to sit-in, knowing the violence they could face, is awe-inspiring. I feel pretty embarrassed that I hadn't learned of this before, but hey, it's never too late.
Hurst was the leader of the protest at just 16 years old (!!), and though the writing isn't great, the story stands as a hook on its own. The bravery of these young people to sit-in, knowing the violence they could face, is awe-inspiring. I feel pretty embarrassed that I hadn't learned of this before, but hey, it's never too late.
June 15, 2020
Axe Handle Saturday was not surprisingly not covered in any of my history classes, so when hearing of the planned GOP nomination acceptance being planned for 27 August in Jacksonville, I wanted to learn more about the event. While there are other books about this vile attack, Hurst was involved in the NAACP youth council before, during, and after. These were kids, Hurst being only 16 at the time, and hordes of grown men felt so threatened by their existence that they were willing to go on a rampage against any blacks in their path that day. Hurst's accounts of the news blackouts, the communication challenges and living under the constant threat of violence are heartbreaking.
June 17, 2008
At a mere 16 years of age, Hurst was part of a group that led two weeks of sit-in demonstrations at local lunch counters as a protest against racism and segregation in 1960. In his book, It Was Never About a Hotdog and a Coke, Hurst recounts the events and racial tensions that resulted in Jacksonville’s infamous Ax Handle.
Hurst said he wrote the book out of a need to continue and spark dialogue about an event that few speak of, and an even smaller amount of people even know occurred.
In the not-to-distant past of the 1950s and early 1960s, former downtown Jacksonville businesses like Woolworth’s and the W.T. Grant store had segregated lunch counters and registers – one spot for white customers to eat and pay, and another for black customers.
At the time, schools were also segregated around the First Coast.
Hurst gained an interest in joining the Jacksonville Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People through Rutledge Henry Pearson, who was an adviser to the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP, and also his American History teacher at Isaiah Blocker Junior High School.
“Mr. Pearson made sure that we understood what the dynamics were in this country,” Hurst said. “He encouraged us to join the NAACP from the classroom – It was unheard of at the time,” he said.
“We got a first-hand civics lesson into what segregation was about.”
Hurst was elected president of the Jacksonville Youth Council in 1959 at the age of 15, and helped organize the sit-in demonstrations that began August 13, 1960, along with the rest of the Youth Council and Pearson.
“We did not sit there just to eat, we wanted to be visible vestiges of segregation; we wanted to confront the system. And it was a very convenient venue to confront the evils of segregation and racism in Jacksonville.”
And on August 27, 1960, anger culminated into a bat- and ax-wielding mob, who attacked Youth Council demonstrators and other black citizens near Main and Adams streets.
In his book, Hurst delves into that life-altering day, racial disparities in the school system at the time, coverage (or lack of) by local newspapers, his involvement in the demonstrations, and the resulting fear, courage and changes that followed for him and fellow Youth Council members during the civil rights movement in Jacksonville.
But overall, Hurst said he wants readers to know the book is about dignity and respect, and the social and political climate at that time.
“I hope they understand the need to understand and digest the past, especially the horrors and evils of racism and segregation so they won’t repeat it,” said Hurst.
“Part of the problem was a lack of communication. But as you will read in the book, there was little communication between whites and blacks … and that hasn’t changed much today.”
Hurst said he wrote the book out of a need to continue and spark dialogue about an event that few speak of, and an even smaller amount of people even know occurred.
In the not-to-distant past of the 1950s and early 1960s, former downtown Jacksonville businesses like Woolworth’s and the W.T. Grant store had segregated lunch counters and registers – one spot for white customers to eat and pay, and another for black customers.
At the time, schools were also segregated around the First Coast.
Hurst gained an interest in joining the Jacksonville Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People through Rutledge Henry Pearson, who was an adviser to the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP, and also his American History teacher at Isaiah Blocker Junior High School.
“Mr. Pearson made sure that we understood what the dynamics were in this country,” Hurst said. “He encouraged us to join the NAACP from the classroom – It was unheard of at the time,” he said.
“We got a first-hand civics lesson into what segregation was about.”
Hurst was elected president of the Jacksonville Youth Council in 1959 at the age of 15, and helped organize the sit-in demonstrations that began August 13, 1960, along with the rest of the Youth Council and Pearson.
“We did not sit there just to eat, we wanted to be visible vestiges of segregation; we wanted to confront the system. And it was a very convenient venue to confront the evils of segregation and racism in Jacksonville.”
And on August 27, 1960, anger culminated into a bat- and ax-wielding mob, who attacked Youth Council demonstrators and other black citizens near Main and Adams streets.
In his book, Hurst delves into that life-altering day, racial disparities in the school system at the time, coverage (or lack of) by local newspapers, his involvement in the demonstrations, and the resulting fear, courage and changes that followed for him and fellow Youth Council members during the civil rights movement in Jacksonville.
But overall, Hurst said he wants readers to know the book is about dignity and respect, and the social and political climate at that time.
“I hope they understand the need to understand and digest the past, especially the horrors and evils of racism and segregation so they won’t repeat it,” said Hurst.
“Part of the problem was a lack of communication. But as you will read in the book, there was little communication between whites and blacks … and that hasn’t changed much today.”
February 19, 2022
As someone with long ties to the Jacksonville area where this book is set, reading about the events of living memory is eye-opening. The library I work in was formerly the store which housed the lunch counters that spawned the axe handle Saturday that figures so prominently in the book. Hurst's narrative is vivid with the detail that comes with first-hand knowledge. This book and others written by those who lived through those turbulent times are treasures we must revisit so we do not forget the dark side of human nature.
December 3, 2017
I just so happened to come across this book while doing some research in the public library. I am in the midst of developing a college course that will investigate local Black architects. I found Hurst's book next to another book I originally was searching for. Liking the title, I decided to add it to my bag, thinking it would provide me with more context of Jacksonville's architecture throughout the initial years of integration.
I was right. This book gave me insight, context, and surprise. I learned more about Jacksonville's history in these 185 pages than I could have ever learned elsewhere. His book is an anecdote, but supported with the use of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and photographs. This book gave me everything I wanted and then some.
I was right. This book gave me insight, context, and surprise. I learned more about Jacksonville's history in these 185 pages than I could have ever learned elsewhere. His book is an anecdote, but supported with the use of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and photographs. This book gave me everything I wanted and then some.
October 12, 2025
This book provides a snapshot of segregated life in Jacksonville in 1960. Combining research, first-hand accounting, and archival photos, the author details Jacksonville's connection (and disconnection) with the national civil rights movement, the often untold story of Ax Handle Saturday, and the consequences, both negative and positive. There are moments of outrage and also heartwarming victories as the author, who was sixteen at the time of the events, becomes a prominent civil rights voice across the South.
I was left wanting more information about the events of that day, a problem the author addresses. The book is as much about that day as it is about the author and his mentor, Rutledge Pearson, who both had an enormous impact on Jacksonville's civil rights movement.
I was left wanting more information about the events of that day, a problem the author addresses. The book is as much about that day as it is about the author and his mentor, Rutledge Pearson, who both had an enormous impact on Jacksonville's civil rights movement.
July 31, 2020
"It Was Never about a Hotdog and a Coke" doesn't read like historical non-fiction, even though it speaks to real events in Jacksonville in 1960. Instead, it's an insider account of the birth of a movement in the 50s and the organization, planning and dedication behind non-violent protests against a city deeply embedded in Jim Crow laws. "Ax Handle Saturday" had very little unbiased news coverage in its day, so this account attempts to set the record straight. Essential reading.
September 3, 2020
Astonishing look at a pivotal civil rights event—Ax handle Saturday—and how it was covered up by the local media. Moreover, the police failed to intervene while 200 white men with ax handles beat up a handful of black, well behaved teens trying to integrate a white lunch counter at Woolworths. Jacksonville folks will recognize many prominent folks and places in these pages and this is a must read for those who want to “get woke.”
September 11, 2020
Rodney Hurst was a teenage Civil Rights activist in Jacksonville, Florida in the 50s and 60s. He describes the NAACP youth movement he led and the tragic events of Ax Handle Saturday after a peaceful sit in at a white only lunch counter. Its a personal reflection with names and pictures. Great resource for Jacksonville history.
August 25, 2018
Insight of local racial issues in Jacksonville, FL. Hurst doesn't give much detail, the AX Handle Saturday is given one chapter and he mentions a lot of names, almost like name dropping, so it can be tedious. It is worth a read just to know a part of local history.
April 25, 2018
Interesting. So many things I never knew. Excited that the Synder Memorial AME Church Church cited in the book may become a museum.
February 28, 2021
This is a very important, insightful book. I hope that someday every person in Jacksonville, at least, may read it.
October 7, 2024
I enjoyed learned about the civil rights era in Jacksonville. I recommend this if you live in the area.
June 26, 2016
Amazing book. It is such a shame that the only names you hear in school and on TV regarding the Civil Rights Movement are MLK and Rosa Parks. There were so many other countless amazing players in the movement that people need to know about, and this book is full of them.
Plus, I love that the author and unsung hero of the Jax movement in 1960 was 16 at the time. I love the way this book highlights that fact without the typical condescending addition of "and he was ONLY 16". I believe that people under 18 have more creative and useful thought than those of us over that age who have been indoctrinated repeatedly and have become overly cynical. If only adults would listen to young people more, this country would be in a much better place. This 16-year-old attended meetings with NAACP and governmental leaders and was instrumental in the integration of Jacksonville's lunch counters, among other things. He was respected by peers and adults alike, and obviously with due reason.
We also learn about the little known contributions of Rutledge Pearson, James Weldon Johnson, and others like Richard Parker. These people sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom. We should all know their names and teach our children to aspire to their level of greatness, bravery, and humility.
Plus, I love that the author and unsung hero of the Jax movement in 1960 was 16 at the time. I love the way this book highlights that fact without the typical condescending addition of "and he was ONLY 16". I believe that people under 18 have more creative and useful thought than those of us over that age who have been indoctrinated repeatedly and have become overly cynical. If only adults would listen to young people more, this country would be in a much better place. This 16-year-old attended meetings with NAACP and governmental leaders and was instrumental in the integration of Jacksonville's lunch counters, among other things. He was respected by peers and adults alike, and obviously with due reason.
We also learn about the little known contributions of Rutledge Pearson, James Weldon Johnson, and others like Richard Parker. These people sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom. We should all know their names and teach our children to aspire to their level of greatness, bravery, and humility.
August 6, 2020
I heard Mr. Hurst speak at the Jacksonville Public Library, met him, his son and daughter-in-law and had to read his book. So much history that I was unaware of! I'm thankful he documented his first-hand experience as a youth leader. A good read to learn more about the Civil Rights movement and how Jacksonville, Florida was involved. Mr. Hurst provides informative background information about the time period leading up to the lunch counter sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday as well as afterwards.
July 10, 2016
This book should be widely read today. Not enough has changed since the 60's. And I can't help but think this is the same fight being fought today by our LGBT community. "Miles to go before I sleep."
February 13, 2015
I received this signed copy as a Christmas book club exchange. Mr. Hurst sets the record straight on many issues during one of America's saddest times.
September 8, 2010
A little bit dry but fairly interesting.
April 1, 2017
I've lived in Jacksonville since the early 1990s, and I'd never heard of Ax Handle Saturday until I spotted a memorial marker for it downtown. Intrigued, I googled until I came upon this book, ordered it, and read it. The story is amazing. Should be required reading for all Jacksonville residents and others throughout the South, to understand how so many fought for civil rights. We all need to engage in the fight today for all people to be treated as equals, as humans.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews