ORANGE PARK – Dr. Leroy “Zke” Zimmerman took the podium during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast. The aroma of sizzling meats and freshly brewed coffee filled the parish hall.

Zimmerman recounted a notable moment in his own stance for civil rights and equality. It was one month before the famous 1963 March on Washington.

The river that flowed through his hometown was the ideal place to cool off during the muggy summer months. However, even this natural wonder was a symbol of the inequality of racism. Upriver was a whites-only section and downriver was Blacks-only, Zimmerman said.

Inspired by the civil rights leaders who paved the way, Zimmerman and nine other young Black men marched upstream, and brought a demonstration permit with them.

“A girl approached me and spat on my face. But I did not move. I stood there at the river until it closed,” Zimmerman said. 

Zimmerman was arrested two days later. The police officer who was transporting him was inspired.

“The officer turned around and said, ‘You shocked everybody. We thought you were going to slap her into next week, but you didn’t,’” he said.

“That day (on the river), we gained a lot of respect from everyone in our community,” he said.