11 Rock vs. Racism, Starring: The Beatles
Michael Arnold
The British discovery of American rock and roll birthed many bands who were soon playing their hearts out. One of these emerging bands was the Beatles who would capture the eyes and ears of the world by 1964. They became especially famous in America during a period of tumultuous social and cultural change. The middle 1960s was the height of the civil rights movement. Black activists were struggling to loosen the tight, institutionalized grip of segregation. In September 1964, these two revolutions—rock n’ roll and the civil rights movement—collided in Jacksonville. The end of segregation in Jacksonville’s municipal facilities, specifically the Gator Bowl where the Beatles played on September 11, 1964, resulted not from the recent Civil Rights Act of 1964 but because of the power and influence of the Fab Four’s words.
Jacksonville had been submerged within the seas of legal segregation since the early twentieth century. By the 1960s, Black people made up nearly half of the city’s population of 200,000. They lived “in substandard housing, attend[ing] overcrowded schools, work[ing] in poorly paid jobs, and [being] barred from the segregated downtown restaurants, theaters, or hotels.”1 Given these conditions, Blacks would not stay silent as the civil rights movement reached its pinnacle by 1964. Ax Handle Saturday had occurred just four years prior, in 1960, when “Black youths began picketing downtown stores to call attention to segregation . . . Jacksonville Blacks entered F. W. Woolworth, J. C. Penney, W. T. Grant, S. H. Kress, and other stores downtown requesting service at lunch counters that previously had excluded them.”2 During these protests, mobs of angry white men stormed downtown with axe handles, beating any Black person they saw in downtown. Yet, despite this tragedy, the minority populace was nowhere near ready to give up their fight for equality. Blacks would picket many downtown restaurants and hotels in early 1964 to combat segregation within businesses. In July of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, which made segregation in public facilities illegal. Nevertheless, many institutions throughout the South, and throughout Jacksonville, would continue to keep segregation intact, including the Gator Bowl. Jacksonville remained a resistant Deep South city.
While social change was sweeping the United States in 1964, on the other side of the Atlantic the Beatles were preparing for their first tour of America. The youth of America was infatuated with their brand of skiffle rock and long haircuts. For them, the Beatles represented cultural rebellion. Lyrics making statements like “a love like ours could never die, as long as I have you near me”3 left a young female audience feeling liberated, both socially and sexually. Furthermore, growing out their hair allowed an American male audience to join in this rebellion by inspiring them to grow out the pseudo-military cuts that were then popular. Images like that of San Francisco’s Cow Palace in 1965, in which 150 police officers were not enough to hold back swarms of adoring fans storming the stage4, became staples of the revolution that would eventually be known as Beatlemania. As a 1964 newspaper put it, the Beatles was “England’s answer to the Boston Tea Party.”5
This revolution went deeper than visual scenes, though. The Beatles represented a generation of British youth that grew up with Black blues and R&B; they owed their music to African Americans and knew it as well. As a result, the sight of Black people being disregarded and segregated would be a vastly different sight than in England where Black performers would find nothing but praise.6
On May 1, 1964 the Beatles announced that Jacksonville would be on their tour stops on September 11. Their tour began on August 19 in San Francisco7, giving Jacksonville nearly a month to brace for the band’s impact. For Jacksonville native Phyllis Tousey, the coming of the Beatles was unparalleled news. The idea that the most famous band in the world would come to Jacksonville gave the city a sense of pride.8 Yet, in the coming days, the band would find themselves on a tricky path before they could play in this Southern city. Starting off, their first obstacle had to do with the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), in which the Beatles would have to “come up with $1,800 in union fees and dues . . . or [else] they won’t sing.”9 This hurdle, however, was easily overcome as the Beatles immediately agreed to the fees and paid the AGVA their money.10 The next hurdle would be much more serious.
As the Beatles’ tour reached the South, a struggle ensued between resistant segregationists and the liberating movement of Beatlemania. While time was ticking closer to the performance date, the band received reports that Jacksonville’s Gator Bowl remained segregated. This was a significant problem because, as stated previously, the Beatles never faced these issues at home in England and fervently opposed segregation. Before staying in Jacksonville, the Beatles were asked about segregated accommodations in their hotel in the city. They answered honestly. George Harrison said, “We don’t know about our accommodations at all. We don’t arrange that. But, you know, we don’t appear anywhere where there is [segregation].” As a result, the Fab Four spent the night at another hotel.11 Furthermore, Paul McCartney, in an interview with Larry Kane, said just how strange the idea of segregation was to him, and how foolish it was that some people thought of other races as lower.12 Now, for those anticipating the concert, the idea of segregation seemed like senseless barrier – or just irrelevant. After all, their favorite band was going to be standing right in front of them, singing their favorite songs. For Black Beatles fan, Kitty Oliver, neither protests or the arrival of the Klan could distract from her passion to see the Beatles on stage.13 However, for the Brennan family, who owned the Gator Bowl, not staging the Beatles was unprofitable. Though not as righteous as the Beatles’ stand against segregation, the Brennan family was eager to sell show tickets to everyone, with their only concern being money.14 Overall, the Beatles were still well on their way to appear in Jacksonville, as long as segregation stayed absent. Yet, the Fab Four’s Jacksonville show would not happen so easily, without one last disaster.
As the cultural hurricane of the Beatles struck Jacksonville, the catastrophic, and real Hurricane Dora would also strike the city just a day before. As a result of the hurricane, “[a]n estimated 92 percent of the electric power in the Duval County area was out of service by late afternoon.”15 City services were in dire condition, as many of the streets were flooded. Furthermore, the Beatles changed their flight plans from arrival in Jacksonville to Key West.16 “On the flight through towering storm clouds,” British journalist Ivor Davis wrote, ”our plane was bucking and bouncing so badly that our stomachs were in our throats the whole way.”17 Overall, things looked bleak for the Fab Four. Yet, the citizens of Jacksonville chose to tough the situation out. For many kids, unaware of the seriousness of the conditions, the hurricane simply meant getting a week off from school. Phyllis Tousey, who would attend the concert, even swam in the streets.18 For the young and passionate fans, the prospect of seeing the Beatles play in their remote, Southern city was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Sheer determination would guide them through obstacles, such as a hurricane, to see their favorite band. Luckily, for the fans, the Beatles were still on to play September 11th, with gates opening at 6:00pm, and the actual performance starting at 8:30 p.m.19 With the Beatles on their way north, everything was set: power lines were unaffected, fans were gathering outside the concert, and the Beatles were arriving at Imerson Airport, heading first to a press conference at the George Washington Hotel. Despite every issue along the way, everything was still in place: it was finally time for the Beatles to perform in one of the most important performances to ever occur in the American South.
The wind was howling; the streets were crowded and imposing police officers hawked over everyone within sight. For 14-year-old Phyllis Tousey and her two friends, however, this sight would not hinder them in the slightest. They showed their tickets, which cost $5 each, and were shown to their seats. The last obstacle occurred for the Fab Four when “newsreel cameramen [had to] leave the area. Because of an issue over royalties from the sale of the film, the Beatles refused to play until the cameramen left. Only then did they walk out on stage.”20 Finally, the Beatles broke into song. Once they started singing, the crowd stood on their chairs and screamed. Not once throughout the entire performance would the young audience sit down and stop screaming. Unlike many of the other shows, this concert did not result in a large mob of fans rushing the stage; most fans felt honored the Beatles would play here, and considering the many obstacles that could have prevented the performance, most felt that just seeing the Fab Four was enough.21
Despite the relative restraint of the young fans, the Beatles’ arrival in Jacksonville unleashed swift change. Their stand against segregation was not in vain and had a profound impact on the population of Jacksonville. During and before the concert, to prevent segregation, hastily made signs were put up, covering the “Whites only” and “Colored only” signs all around the stadium. Though most fans were not aware of the role of the Beatles in ending segregation in the Gator Bowl, it was a welcome surprise to many audience members, particularly Black ones. Kitty Oliver was able to walk “up to a ticket booth out front and, with the money she earned cleaning house and delivering groceries, [buy] a ticket to sit on the field. She got in and was shown her seat with no difficulty.”22 The treatment Kitty Oliver received, which was the same as any other audience member, was unprecedented for an event in Jacksonville.
Following the concert, the city not only dropped segregation in the Gator Bowl, but many businesses followed suit. For some, the institution of segregation was simply not as profitable as integrated businesses, which was certainly seen at the Gator Bowl. On the other hand, the idea that the most important cultural phenomenon, the Beatles, would come to the city of Jacksonville and oppose segregation forced White city leaders to question their practices. The idea that segregation could continue after a monumental event like this was now ridiculous to many Jacksonville residents. As a result, after 1964, large swaths of businesses would desegregate throughout Jacksonville, bringing large scale integration throughout much of the city. Three years later, a live show starring the Monkees, Jimi Hendrix and the Sundowners played at the old Jacksonville Coliseum (where the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena stands now) to an integrated audience.23 Though the band might have been unaware of the full consequences of their actions, on September 11th, 1964, the Beatles changed Jacksonville history for the better.
Michael Arnold:
Michael Arnold was born in Savannah and grew up in Jacksonville. He attended Sandalwood High School and graduated from the Foundation Academy. He’ll be joining the Hicks Honors College at UNF in the fall 2025 semester.
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