Dr. Robert Hayling, a former U.S. Army officer,  prospered in St. Augustine as a dentist with a biracial practice, but lost everything he owned -- and nearly lost his life -- after he became a Civil Rights organizer.  His confrontational approach appealed to young people.

Audrey Nell Edwards was a 16-year-old student at segregated Murray High School when she began taking part in demonstrations organized by Dr. Hayling.  She and 15 other protesters were arrested after entering Woolworth’s and sitting at the lunch counter on July 18, 1963.

Like her friend Audrey Nell, Joe Ann Olmer was only 16, but both girls (along with two young boys arrested at the sit-in) defied a judge in Juvenile Court  by refusing to sign away their right to protest.  They were sentenced to a year in prison and became known as “The St. Augustine Four.”

As a child, Purcell Conway was surprised when he was told he could not drink a milkshake at Woolworth’s lunch counter because he was a Negro.  “What’s that?”  he asked.  Years later, Conway took part in numerous demonstrations and was beaten during a “wade in” at the beach.

Maude Jackson Burroughs remembers walking to school every day and watching white students ride past her on busses.  She vowed to change things someday, and finally saw her chance after visiting Dr. Hayling’s office as a patient.  She joined dangerous night marches and was jailed.

In the 1960s, Barbara Allen was one of a number of black nursing assistants at Flagler Hospital.  When she discovered that their white counterparts, including many who were less qualified, were making higher wages, she complained -- and lost her job.

Depressed with his prospects for the future, Shed Dawson dropped out of high school, but the movement gave him a sense of purpose.  Arrested many times for demonstrating, he was rejected by every branch of the armed forces -- then, ironically, was drafted and sent to Vietnam.

An ordinary person who says she “just did what was right,” Cora Tyson exposed herself to great risk by opening her home to outsiders who joined the protests in St. Augustine.  Although it was a carefully guarded secret at the time, one of her houseguests was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Barbara Allen says her son jokes that he’s only been arrested once in his life -- and that’s when she was carrying him.  What crime did she commit while pregnant?  She attempted, to worship God at an all-white Methodist church -- but was stopped at the door and taken to jail.

A veteran of many demonstrations, Errol Jones today is St. Augustine’s vice mayor -- and the only African-American on the city commission.   In 1902, a white city marshal shot a black alderman during a town meeting, putting an end to black political officeholding for nearly 70 years.

Retired nurse Janie Price is typical of the “ordinary people” who, together, became extraordinary.  Like Mrs. Tyson, she offered her home to outsiders, including Dr. King.  “This was a dirty little town,” she says bluntly.  “I mean, this town was underhanded.”

Rev. C.T. Vivian was one of the first SCLC officials to arrive in St. Augustine after an urgent request for help from Dr. Hayling, who had been beaten and nearly murdered by the Ku Klux Klan.  Vivian began to organize, but Dr. King worried the situation had grown too volatile.

Along with Vivian and the Rev. Hosea Williams, Dorothy Cotton was among the “first wave” of SCLC officials in St. Augustine.  She sustained numerous injuries during night marches and, during a daytime “wade in” at the beach, was severely beaten.

Raised as a Mennonite, Fred Martin was studying math in college, but dropped out to join Civil Rights activists in Mississippi.  Hosea Williams convinced him to change his destination to St. Augustine, where managed the makeshift SCLC office and kept track of who was in jail.

As a white protester demonstrating with blacks, Al Lingo often was called a “race traitor” and singled out for violent attack.  He played a pivotal role in the St. Augustine movement when he easily registered as a guest at the segregated Monson Motor Lodge and went swimming.

Rev. Willie Bolden, a former Marine and pool hustler, had difficulty embracing non-violence at first, but ended up on the front lines, using his own body to shield Dr. King and others.  On the day Lingo went swimming, Bolden’s job was to distract the motel owner elsewhere.

David Nolan, himself a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, is an historian and author who for years waged a lonely battle with city officials to preserve and acknowledge St. Augustine’s role in passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.

As founder and president of ACCORD, Gwendolyn Duncan teamed up with Nolan and worked tirelessly to prevent the city’s Civil Right’s history from being bulldozed and covered up.  Her assistance made the documentary possible.

Also critical to the success of “Crossing in St. Augustine” is former St. Augustine resident Jeremy Dean -- whose own documentary, “Dare Not Walk Alone,” was the first to expose this “lost” chapter of the city’s history and uncover archival footage.

Home for summer in 1960 after his first year at Howard University, Hank Thomas staged a one-man sit-in at the McCrory’s lunch counter in downtown St. Augustine.  Police tried, unsuccessfully, to have him declared insane, and he went on to become one of the original 13 “Freedom Riders.”

Dan Warren, as the state’s attorney, started out on “the other side,” fighting the SCLC in court --  but after Dr. King was arrested in St. Augustine, he began to work quietly behind the scenes in an effort to broker a peaceful solution and became an ally and great admirer.

One of Dr. King’s most trusted aides, Andrew Young was under orders to work as a key strategist and stay out of harm’s way.  But when Dr. King sent him to “calm down” the movement in St. Augustine, he found himself on the front lines and was severely beaten.

With TV cameras rolling, J.T. Johnson led a group of young African Americans into the pool as Lingo’s “guests.”  Enraged, the owner began pouring acid into the water.  This shocking footage was seen across the nation and is credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act.

When ACCORD sought funding to erect a series of “Freedom Trail” markers, only one local employer stepped up to bat.  Rick Matthews, a vice president at Northrop-Grumman, says the company was happy to help acknowledge American history.

Bob O’Neill is general manager of the local Hilton, built where the Monson Motor Lodge once stood.  Until recently, it was the only place in St. Augustine to preserve Civil Rights history by saving the steps where Dr. King was arrested.