City’s remaining Confederate monuments take spotlight in public comment during Council meeting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For weeks, the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville has been pressing the metropolis travel done with the removal of each remaining Confederate monuments, and connected Tuesday afternoon, the enactment held different rally extracurricular City Hall.

The enactment gathered astatine the steps, chanting and holding signs.

It’s not the archetypal clip the Coalition has demonstrated extracurricular City Hall. A period ago, astir 2 twelve radical gathered astatine the aforesaid spot, asking successful peculiar for the metropolis to instrumentality down the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, which remains successful Springfield Park -- though it’s covered.

Ben Frazier, the organization’s president, says it’s a awesome of racism and achromatic supremacy.

“We deliberation it’s clip for Jacksonville to march to the bushed of a antithetic drummer,” Frazier said. “We deliberation it’s perfectly imperative that successful bid for Jacksonville to determination guardant it indispensable bash truthful by taking this Confederate monument down.”

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News4Jax has learned removing the statue from Springfield Park could outgo astatine slightest $1.29 million, and that doesn’t see different expenses that could beryllium related to storing oregon preserving the statue. The outgo was revealed successful an email from Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes.

Seber Newsome, who lives successful Yulee, often attends City Council meetings, speaking successful favour of keeping the monuments successful place. He and respective different antagonistic protesters were astatine the event.

“It’s going to beryllium breached up, chopped up successful pieces and it volition ne'er spot the airy of time again,” Newsome said. “They’re not going to walk different 1.3 cardinal to enactment it up again.”

The City Council is scheduled to sermon authorities during its gathering Tuesday night.

During nationalist comment, galore radical -- some for and against removing Confederate monuments, shared their opinions with the Council members.

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“These are pieces of past that is [sic] being erased. Instead of looking astatine them negatively, radical should look astatine them and deliberation however acold we’ve come,” said Betty Hodges, Jacksonville resident. “The happening that offends maine greatly is the estimated $1.3 cardinal to region the monuments that person been present for centuries. The wealth could beryllium utilized for a amended good.”

“Use that wealth not to teardrop down our heritage, but to physique up the city,” different talker said. “Use that aforesaid wealth to amended sewer and drainage, and our garbage picked up.”

“The clip for alteration is now,” said Debbie Tribble with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville. “This monument does not amusement worth connected however we are bully to each other. It does not amusement that we are making a crook successful the close direction. It was built connected selfish actions of manipulation and control.”

“If the metropolis is going to determination forward, City Council indispensable marque the close decision,” said Joseph George, with the Northside Coalition. “We volition proceed to march and protestation successful a peaceful mode until these monuments are taken down. We’re not going anywhere.”

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In June 2020, Mayor Lenny Curry ordered the removal of a Confederate statue successful what was past Hemming Park, present James Weldon Johnson Park, to beryllium removed. He besides announced that all Confederate monuments successful the metropolis would beryllium removed.

In September, the Northside Coalition called connected Curry to travel done with that promise.

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