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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A telegram Malcolm X sent Dr. King on June 29, 1964, warning about the treatment of activists in St. Augustine, offering to send armed groups to help. No record King ever responded. That silence is its own kind of history. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This photograph from St. Augustine in 1964 was a devastating piece of foreshadowing. The bullet was fired at a beach cottage that was rented for Martin Luther King, Jr. Read all about it in Original City, Original Sin--out two weeks from today on October 15. Link in...

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A couch full of dolls, handmade by Barbara Vickers, a native St. Augustinian who spearheaded the foot soldiers monument facing the city's slave market. Taken in 2015, in her home on a street now named for Dr. Robert Hailing. Out October 15. Grab your copy, link in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Nothing about this week has gone to plan, and I wouldn't trade it. Pre-launch event for Original City, Original Sin tonight on Peaks Island, nor'easter rolling in, no physical books yet after a supply chain hiccup. 20 years of work, and it hasn't let go of me. Link in...

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The National Museum of African American History and Culture turns 10 today. Its display on 1963-64 covers Birmingham, the March on Washington, Freedom Summer. St. Augustine isn't mentioned once. New post on Civil Writer. Link in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Kicking things off early! I'll be at the Fifth Maine Museum on Peaks Island, Maine, on Wednesday September 23 at 6 PM for a pre-launch event ahead of Original City, Original Sin hitting shelves Can't wait to share this one. Link in bio for details #OriginalCityOriginalSin #PeaksIsland #Maine

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This pavilion sits in Plaza de la Constitucion, St. Augustine. Two plaques hang here, one says "slave market," the other "public market." One of many spots where different stories sit side by side. Untangling these stories is what Original City, Original Sin is about Grab your copy, link in...

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Today marks 63 years since Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were killed in the Birmingham church bombing. I wrote about that day on Civil Writer. Also out today: ep. 2 of Three by Fifteen. Both linked in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Kris Rhim, my former student, one of Philly's finest, has always gotten it: sports and social justice are tangled up together. He's built a career I genuinely admire. Watching that happen is the whole reason I teach. Out Oct 15. Link in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is the program from May 18, 1964, Dr. King's first night in St. Augustine, at St. Paul Church. A simple piece of paper marking the beginning of one of the most important chapters in the city's history. Original City, Original Sin, out October 15 Grab your copy, link in comments.

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

People still stop me on the street to talk about my mom. She taught fourth grade for decades, and strangers still tell me she was the best teacher they ever had. That thread runs through Original City, Original Sin. New post on Civil Writer. Link in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

In 2019, I brought Springfield College students to Janie Price's home to hear her story firsthand. She hosted Dr. King in St. Augustine, but they'd known each other since Grady Nursing School in Atlanta. That kind of history doesn't come through in a textbook. Grab your copy, link in comments.

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

St. Augustine, the "oldest city," is named after Augustine of Hippo, a person of color. Steps from his statue sits a slave market, and nearby stands the Ponce de Leon Hotel, lavish enough for electricity before the White House, yet closed to the city's own Black residents. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This is William. He's been my writing companion through most of Original City, Original Sin: long walks where I worked through chapters in my head, plenty of company along the way. Every book needs a good writing companion, and he's a great listener. Out October 15. #OriginalCityOriginalSin

Not Shakespeare, but a great literary William

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

August 28 carries more weight in American history than people realize: the March on Washington, the naming of St. Augustine in 1565, and Emmett Till's kidnapping in 1955. Read the full story of the date; link in comments. #OriginalCityOriginalSin #mlk #civilrights

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Here it is. The cover for Original City, Original Sin: King, the Klan, and the Fight for Civil Rights in St. Augustine, Florida. This book has been many years in the making, and I can't wait for you to see it. Out October 15. #OriginalCityOriginalSin #CoverReveal

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Listen to "Three by Fifteen: A Civil Rights Podcast" here: www.civilwriter.com/general-informa…

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

If you haven't listened yet, the first episode of "Three by Fifteen: A Civil Rights Podcast" is out now. It's about Irv Cheney, the pastor whose actions on a harrowing night in Sept 1963 set so much of the St. Augustine civil rights story in motion. Link in comments. #ThreeByFifteen

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Irv Cheney, one of the most remarkable people I met. His actions on a harrowing night in Sept 1963 set so much of the St. Augustine civil rights story in motion. Today I'm releasing the first episode of "Three by Fifteen" a podcast about him Links in bio

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today is Aug 5. 81 years ago, a Japanese monk named Nichidatsu Fujii was building support for nonviolence. The next day, Fujii's 60th birthday, coincided with a nuclear fireball in Hiroshima. He built Peace Pagodas for the rest of his life. New post on Civil Writer. Link in comments. #CivilWriter

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Pre-order my upcoming book, "Original City, Original Sin: King, the Klan, and the Fight for Civil Rights in St. Augustine, Florida" www.civilwriter.com/books/original-…

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Read the full article on my Substack, where you can also subscribe: civilwriter.substack.com

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I'm no longer young. But in the best sense, young people keep me young. 33rd year of full-time teaching starts this fall. What I've learned: young people keep me honest. They spark societal change. We need them, more than ever. Read more on my Substack. Link in reply. #CivilRights #Teaching

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Pre-order my upcoming book, "Original City, Original Sin: King, the Klan, and the Fight for Civil Rights in St. Augustine, Florida" www.civilwriter.com/books/original-…

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Read the full article on my Substack, where you can also subscribe: civilwriter.substack.com

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

April 4, 1968. I was 7, watching "Truth or Consequences" on our black-and-white TV. Then came the beep-beep-beep of a special report, and my mother's stricken voice: "Oh my God!" That is when the story behind my book began. Read the rest on my Substack, link in comments. #CivilRights #StAugustine

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Ken--again! www.facebook.com/reel/1706100...

facebook.com

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

No one tells the American story better than #KenBurns: www.facebook.com/reel/1409967... What an honor that he considers "Original City, Original Sin" (www.civilwriter.com) a real contribution to that story: "Woven with journalistic rigor and lyrical wonder, this is a timely and beautiful book."

facebook.com

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Pre-order my upcoming book, "Original City, Original Sin: King, the Klan, and the Fight for Civil Rights in St. Augustine, Florida" www.civilwriter.com/books/original-…

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Read the full article: www.civilwriter.com/post/saluting-a… Or, on my Substack, where you can also subscribe: civilwriter.substack.com

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Spoke with Dr. Robert Hayling once: two hours, a hotel parking lot, Florida sun. Five months later, he was gone. Today's the anniversary of the #CivilRightsAct of 1964, a law he helped pass. Link to my full reflections in comments/bio. #CivilRights #StAugustine #AmericanHistory #ForgottenHeroes

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Marty Dobrow @martydobrow.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Pre-order my upcoming book, "Original City, Original Sin: King, the Klan, and the Fight for Civil Rights in St. Augustine, Florida" www.civilwriter.com/books/original-…

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