Protests and marches for civil rights are making headlines today, just like they did 50 years ago.
In fact this week, marks the 56th anniversary of a march and demonstration in St. Augustine in which rabbis came from around the country. It resulted in the largest mass arrest of rabbis in the nation.
Rabbi Allen Secher remembers marching on the night of June 17th, 1964 from the Lincolnville neighborhood to downtown St. Augustine during a Civil Rights march.
"It was the scariest two hours of my life," Secher told First Coast News from his Montana home Wednesday.
"There were people along the way screaming at us, and it was very tough not to turn to them and scream back. We didn’t," he said. "The night before someone had been shot.
Secher was one of 16 rabbis from around the United States who accepted Dr. Martin Luther King’s invitation to march in St. Augustine.
"I was scared major," Secer recalled. "Someone was shot the night before during that march."
Those rabbis landed in the St. Johns County Jail because of their peaceful protests and demonstrations. It was the largest mass arrest of rabbi’s in the U.S.
Watching the marches and protests these last few weeks, Secher commented, "My general feeling is hooray… but!"
He explained, "The hooray is because I am thrilled with the wake-up call."
But he worries the fervor will fade away and says serious change is hard to come by. To get it, will require, "serious legislation that will see to it that black lives matter."
This veteran advocate of social justice says today’s protesters are doing some things right… and some things wrong.
"What they’re doing right is making noise. And they're making a lot of it," he said. "The world is hearing it."
But Secher says some of today’s protesters are making the noise in the wrong way.
"I get distressed when (the protesters) yell back a those who are in our face," he said.
Dr. King taught him and others in the 60’s to peacefully protest.
"And it's never confront the confronters," Secher said.
Beyond better treatment from law enforcement, Secher believes the deeper need for social equality in education and job opportunities still exists, even 56 years after he marched.
"And from that I feel discouraged," he nodded.
Secher believes change can result from today's protests, and also encourages people to stay on top of their law makers for long lasting change.
In St. Augustine, Jessica Clark, FCN OYS.