Educator reflects on father’s work with MLK in segregated St. Augustine Earl Johnson Jr.’s father was Martin Luther King Jr.’s attorney in Florida during Civil Rights era Lena Pringle, Anchor/traffic and general assignment reporter Published: Updated: Tags: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s example of non-violent protest still resonates around the world. In 1964, King put those principles to the test in Northeast Florida when he and other activists were arrested for attempting to eat at a whites-only restaurant at the Monson Motor Lodge in downtown St. Augustine. Civil Rights demonstrators responded to King’s arrest by jumping into a segregated pool at the hotel. Images of the owner pouring acid into the pool sparked outrage and helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.