Early Life, Education, and Civil Rights Awakening

Dr. Robert B. Hayling grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, as a middle brother of four siblings. His mother was a Creole woman from Louisiana, and his father was an immigrant from the island of Grenada (making Hayling of Caribbean descent). Their household valued education, as his father was a college professor at Florida A&M University.Young Robert attended Florida A&M University as an undergraduate student and became an officer in the United States Air Force after receiving his Bachelor's degree. However, his path changed when he was accepted to Maherry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee to study dentistry. There, Hayling not only earned his doctorate but also participated in some of his first protests against segregation and racism. A prominent Nashville protest that Hayling joined was in response to a firebombing of his Maherry men's dormitory and the nearby home of Dr. Z Alexander Looby.

Dentistry in St. Augustine

With Florida badly in need of Black dentists, Hayling accepted schooling assistance from the state and was moved to St. Augustine after he graduated from Maherry in 1960. He took over the offices of the town's previous Black dentist at 79 Bridge Street and began serving the community, including prisoners from the local jail. According to a 2011 interview with Dr. Hayling, his patients were about 60% White.However, the vile racism he witnessed in the "Ancient City'' was impossible to ignore.

Leadership in the St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement

In 1963, Dr. Robert B. Hayling joined the St. Augustine chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and began leading their Youth Council.Hayling was an active organizer within the St. Augustine movement from 1963 to 1965, working with both the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), earning positions within those organizations. Hayling marched alongside activists of all backgrounds — from icons like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young to locals like Barbara Vickers and the St. Augustine Foot Soldiers.

Facing Resistance and Danger

Dr. Hayling's unwavering resistance to institutional racism caused him to become a notorious member of the St. Augustine movement. White segregationists spitefully hated him, and many people within the Black community questioned his bold approach. During their years in St. Augustine, he and his family endured ridicule, threats, mob violence, and gun violence from White supremacist groups like the KKK or the local Ancient City Gun Club / Manucy's Raiders.
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Duncan, Gwendolyn."'Father of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.'" ACCORD Freedom Trail. 2004. Accessed October 2023. .

Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. "Dr. Robert B. Hayling - The Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame." (n.d.) Accessed October 2023. .

Garrow, David. 1989. St. Augustine, Florida, 1963-1964: Mass Protest and Racial Violence. New York, USA: Carlson Publishing, Inc., 1989.

Guinta, Peter. "Civil rights hero Hayling given St. Augustine's highest honor." The Florida Times Union, July 2, 2013. .

Hayling, Robert Bagner, Interviewee, Joseph Mosnier, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. "Robert Bagner Hayling oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Saint Augustine, Florida, 2011 September 14." 2011. Video. Accessed October 2023. .