ST. PETERBURG, Fla. — From baseball to sanitation workers, the city of St. Pete had its place in the center of the civil rights movement.

A new exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, on the St. Pete Pier, is called 'Civil Rights in the Sunshine State' and breaks down the different pivotal moments that took place in Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • 'Civil Rights in the Sunshine State' exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History through early June

  • Exhibit showcases Florida’s role in the civil rights movement

  • St. Pete was home to crucial moments in civil rights history

According to the museum’s executive director Rui Farias, some big moments that defined the civil rights movement happened right in St. Petersburg. Farias taught U.S. History in Pinellas County for 20 years and is now sharing his passion though his work at the museum.

“You can’t change what happened, all you can do is teach and make sure people try and understand what happened so those mistakes are never made again,” he said.

In 1968, all eyes were on St. Petersburg when Black sanitation workers asked for better pay and safer working conditions but were denied by the City of St. Pete.

“They go on strike in May and the strike lasts until August,” Farias explained, “Where basically most of the garbage was not picked up.”

That strike helped to change the attitude that many large cities had towards their African American employees.

Farias said one factor that pushed St. Petersburg to desegregate was when MLB teams such as the New York Yankees threatened to pull their spring training games from the city in the early 1960s.

“You have to remember that the city was segregated and when the game itself became integrated.. we still were not,” Farias said.

While white players stayed in hotels, African American players often stayed with local families in their homes as the city did not allow them to room or eat together. Farias says it was only after the New York Yankees pulled out of St. Pete and other teams threatened to do the same that the city moved forward with desegregating.

“You can’t teach US history without teaching this,” Farias said.

The exhibit will be at the St. Petersburg Museum of History through early June.