The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve commemorated the 400th anniversary of the landing of the first enslaved Africans in English-occupied North America Sunday at the Kingsley Plantation.
Nationwide at 3 p.m., national parks around the country participated in a bell-ringing ceremony for four minutes (one minute for each century). This ceremony honored the lives of the first enslaved Africans that landed at the Point Comfort in 1619, along with 400 years of African American History.
"We are all still as similar or as different as we've been over these 400 years," Ted Johnson of the National Park Service said. "So now that we are in a different era, why not usher in a period of a new type of conversation."
Bells have traditionally been used as a symbol of freedom throughout history. The public was encouraged to participate in the ceremony by bringing their own bells to ring.
"I think about the history that we had to go through and the younger kids don't know anything about it," said visitor Floyd Key, "and we need to get out to the kids to bring them up to where they can understand and love and get all the hate out."
The day also coincided with the National Park Service's 103rd anniversary of establishment. The National Park Service preserves and protects natural and cultural sites around the world that play a vital part in America's heritage.
To celebrate 103 years of establishment the National Park Service will be offering free admission to all national parks.
Click here to view the national parks and services located along the First Coast.