A.G. Gancarski
Tension is high in Jacksonville after a proposal was made by the Jacksonville City Council President to remove Confederate monuments from public parks.
Tuesday evening’s Council meeting saw over three hours and 123 comments from opponents and proponents of the monuments, and there is every indication that as the public boils on this one, Council Chamber will be roiled by further rehearsal of well-worn positions on both sides.
Meanwhile, pressure will come to bear on local politicians — as evidenced by a Change.Org petition from “Save Southern Heritage” to “protect Southern history in Jacksonville” that had 7,400 signatures as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The petition, sent to Mayor Lenny Curry, urges him and former Council President Lori Boyer not to “kowtow to the Anti-American, Anti-Veteran hate groups that want to erase our history. Please say ‘enough is enough’ and do what Hillsborough County is doing – pass a protection ordinance protecting memorials TO ALL VETERANS OF ALL WARS in Jacksonville.”
“The Extreme Left including the ‘Occupy,’ the Uhuru Movement, the New Black Panther Party and other borderline domestic terrorist organizations like Anti-Fa,” per the petition, have laid waste to Confederate cenotaphs and memorials hither and yon.
Now, such depredations are headed to Duval County, the petitioners observe.
“They now have turned their attention to Jacksonville and have declared war on Robert E. Lee High School, Jefferson Davis Middle School, Kirby Smith Middle School and J.E.B. Stewart Middle School [SIC], as well [SIC] the Ladies Memorial in Confederate Park, Confederate Park and all other monuments including Hemming Plaza. Their stated goal is to obliterate Jacksonville’s history from 1860-1950.”
This follows on the defacement of the sign at Jacksonville’s Robert E. Lee High School on Thursday.
The petition continues in that vein for some paragraphs, occasionally employing hashtags for effect: “Using #fakeracism to divide us along color lines – they trump up ‘white guilt’ and exploit well-meaning black Southerners as pawns in their war on American History.”
—
This petition follows on the aforementioned contentious Council meeting, one which left the Council President and the Mayor scrambling for appropriate response.
For Council President Brosche, who took a strong position and received a week of threats for her trouble, this is an issue that could make or break her presidency.
“I’m not sure that we’ll ever reach consensus,” Brosche said after the meeting on the monument issue.
—
Mayor Curry, meanwhile, said Wednesday that removal of the monuments is “not a priority” for his administration, even as “dark days in history ought to be acknowledged.”
Curry also noted a public safety concern, saying that there was “chatter” last week from Confederate enthusiasts/white nationalists that concerned the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
7 comments
Seber Newsome III (Chief of Protection) Save Southern Heritage Florida
August 25, 2017 at 6:42 pm
The city council president and the other members of the city council along with the Mayor, should pay attention to the poll numbers. 77% of those polled, said leave the monuments where they are. Action News Jax poll was 82% saying leave them in place, and First Coast News poll was 80% to leave them in place. I realize that those TV polls are not recognized as legitimate, but, they do show practically the same numbers from non-partisan Gravis Marketing Research Firm. 76% said they would not vote for Anna Lopez Brosche if the Confederate Monuments were moved off public property where they are now. Save Southern Heritage Florida has brought up the idea of putting monuments to famous African Americans from Jacksonville, in Hemming Park. This should have been done years ago, for more diversity in the park. Were for inclusion not exclusion. America builds monuments we don’t tear them down!
Arthur Truax
August 26, 2017 at 10:25 am
You build upon history, whether good or bad. No present generation has a right to destroy history of previous generations. Even if it is considered bad history. The sad reflexion of it makes you glad it is no longer that way. You don’t pretend the past away. You build better on it and leave hope in the future generation of even futher advances. History is our past. It does not hinder our future. My daughter graduated from Forest High School in Jacksonville, Florida. That is what is on her diploma. And you took our history away by your knee~Jerk over reaction to change the Name to Westside High School. “God has not given you a spirit of fear…”(2 Tim 1:7). Take a stand for History. Because you cannot pretend it away. Just creare alot of confussion for the future generations.
Rebecka
August 26, 2017 at 6:43 pm
Please pay attention to the people are not in the local media and news …. we have a say-so over our history and our ancestors memorials. Please do not remove the monuments and memorials dedicated to these brave veterans that fought for America…no matter what side they were on!
Michele Barkley
August 26, 2017 at 7:01 pm
Please stop letting this hateful groups destroy our history.
Amy Campbell
August 26, 2017 at 9:33 pm
The statues represent a treasonous faction that wanted to secede the united States of America in order to uphold slavery . Put them in graveyards to watch over the dead who ignorantly gave their lives for this awful cause.
seber newsome III
August 27, 2017 at 6:50 am
That is your opinion . LET THE PEOPLE OF JACKSONVILLE VOTE ON IT? IS NOT THAT WHAT AMERICA IS ABOUT, LET THE PEOPLE VOTE!!!!
Barbara Jordan
August 27, 2017 at 7:45 pm
Shouldn’t City Council be focusing their efforts on Jax economy rather than reacting to emotional social events. Is this how our tax dollars are being wasted?
Comments are closed.