Boynton Beach marks repeal by burning three segregation-era ordinances

Boynton Beach residents gathered Saturday at Sarah Sims Park for a Unity Festival march and a symbolic burning of three ordinances the Boynton Beach City Commission recently repealed.

The repeal and the public burning focused on ordinances identified by number — 37, 47 and 136 — that residents and speakers described as segregation-era “sundown” rules restricting where Black residents could be after dark. The commission voted unanimously to remove the ordinances from the city code, according to remarks at the event.

The repeal was framed at the festival as both a corrective step and a symbolic reckoning. An event speaker said, "When you know better, you do better," and led the crowd in a countdown before burning copies of the three ordinances.

Longtime residents recounted everyday restrictions under the old rules. Lynn Leverette, who said she was a young girl when the ordinances were enforced, described being routed across a highway to get to school because African Americans were not permitted on Ocean Avenue. "I…