Yesterday, Dean Debolt, the University Librarian for UWF University Archives and West Florida History Center and John C. Pace Libraries, posted his research on the Easter sunrise services held at the City of Pensacola’s Bayview Park.
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward hired the Beggs & Lane law firm to defend the city in a lawsuit that alleges the cross at the park violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“The cross is a permanent marker recognizing an annual community gathering that was first held on Easter of 1941 when the world was at war, and this country was only months away from formally joining that conflict,†argued the attorneys in documents filed with the court. City, Army and Navy officials arranged bus transportation for Army and Navy personnel to attend the service, which they said became an annual event. Read 22. Answer to Complaint – PENSACOLA.
The attorneys argued the cross honors the dead, presumably those who died in military service.
Debolt reviewed the Pensacola newspapers from the 1960s and found no references to sailors being bussed to the services.
“As I’ve checked the Pensacola newspapers from 1959 through 1971, there’s no mention of busing military folks to the park as NAS had its own traditional Easter sunrise service, often on the U.S.S. Lexington when it was at base,” wrote Debolt.
He also discovered the Easter sunrise service was a whites-only event for its first 29 years. The first integrated service wasn’t until 1971. The 1969 Easter service during which the Jaycees dedicated the 34-foot cross was a segregated affair.
Here is his post:
The Easter sunrise service was held at Bayview since 1941, but in 1959 there were three crosses at the service. While the Pensacola Jaycees sponsored it, the 1962 event was also sponsored by the Greater Pensacola Christian Ministers Association.
At the 1969 Easter sunrise service, the large 34-foot lighted cross was dedicated. It was built at a cost of over $2,000, paid for by people attending the event in the past. The first integrated-conducted service was held Easter 1970, and the offerings were placed in the Easter Sunrise Memorial fund “used for the continued improvement of the facilities at Bayview Park.â€
As I’ve checked the Pensacola newspapers from 1959 through 1971, there’s no mention of busing military folks to the park as NAS had its own traditional Easter sunrise service, often on the U.S.S. Lexington when it was at base.