Confederate Monument removed from Springfield Park

[Ken_FSU]

“Symbols matter.” - Donna Deegan

That’s my mayor!

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/12/27/work-begins-overnight-to-remove-confederate-monument-from-springfield-park/

[Charles Hunter]

Yes!!!

[jcjohnpaint]

Nice work!

[marcuscnelson]

Hell yeah! Really nice of 904WARD to lead the fundraising for making this possible.

Really pitiful seeing people like Nick Howland and Dean Black decide now is the time to whine about how they didn't get to continue refusing to make a decision.

[JaxJersey-licious]

There was a fictional detective book I read a while that imagined a world where the Civil War was never fought and the Confederacy was allowed to exist independently from the regular United States keeping their practice of slavery. It showed a Confederacy that was not only struggling economically and suffering from lots of migration by blacks and whites alike, but also a country shunned by the international community and missing out on the technological advances and educational opportunities people from the South take for granted.

I always think of those scenarios and just shake my head whenever anyone feel the needs to defend these monuments or prominently wear the image of the Stars and Bars (which by the way was NOT the flag of the Confederacy but the flag they flew when they went out to battles most of which they lost badly).   

[thelakelander]

If not for the Civil War, that group would have been eventually slaughtered in a Haitian style rebellion by the enslaved oppressed.

[copperfiend]

Nick Howland is big mad

[thelakelander]

He'll get over it. This city has much bigger fish to fry. Kudos to  the mayor getting this done before the nonsense in Tallahassee is passed.

[jaxlongtimer]

...State Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, filed legislation for the 2022 legislative session and again for the 2023 session to block cities from moving  Confederate and other historical memorials in the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis would have the authority to remove and fine any elected official involved in taking down such memorials....

....Black, who is chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County, on Wednesday blasted the removal of the monument's statues, calling it a "stunning abuse of power" by Deegan. He said doing it without consulting city leaders or having a vote by City Council "is another in a long line of woke Democrats' obsession with cancel culture and tearing down history. "....

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2023/12/27/mayor-donna-deegan-orders-jacksonville-confederate-monument-taken-down/72035290007/

So Dean Black wants to turn over local governance decisions to the governor but turns around and complains that Deegan, as our local mayor, bypassed the local City Council.  And he adds that it is a "stunning abuse of power."  Maybe he should apply the same standard to the governor and the legislature.  What a hypocrite!

I would imagine if there was a statue that slighted Trump, Jesus, or some other icon of Black or Howland, they would want it removed yesterday.  The lack of understanding that a statue on public property that has its roots in celebrating those who oppressed others is offensive is just unfathomable. 

With all the problems in the world today, the GOP right's hype of this issue is also out of order.  I was no fan of Curry but hats off to him for also pushing this removal along.  I bet a lot of GOP'ers on the City Council, right winger and champion naysayer Nick Howland aside, are secretly thrilled Deegan got this done so they don't have to go on record one way or the other.  Time to move forward.

[Florida Power And Light]

When Duval is finally, officially well in to predominantly black population status and function, of all the things black people don’t like at that juncture, likely none will complain that there are not enough white folk around.

( By then, even folks like Dean Black moved out, or even worse for him, hunkered down. Fort Life. )

Fair Play

[vicupstate]

Dean Black is all by himself all the reason you need to justify taking partisan politics out of local elections. Jacksonville has the unique ability to do just that too (charter amendment).  If only someone would take up that cause.

[jaxlongtimer]

Dean Black is off his rocker.  Aside from his desire to preserve Confederate monuments to slavery advocates, he wants to retroactively force taxpayers to restore monuments and remove from office elected officials (so much for respecting the voters) going back up to 7 years (if passed in 2024) that acted legally at the time.  He also is giving the middle finger to public input/opinion/elections that might endorse these actions.  No way this holds up in the courts and will just waste more taxpayer dollars on lawyers if passed.

Another example of the dictatorial actions by the GOP legislature and governor who want to override all local governance that they don't approve of.

....Black, who serves in the state House in addition to being chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County, and state Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed related bills that would force local governments that remove historic monuments to cover the full cost for putting them back in their original condition.

Black's bill would enforce that requirement for any historic monuments removed since Jan. 1, 2017 while Martin would make it retroactive to Oct. 1, 2020.

Black wants the governor to be able to boot from office any local elected official involved in that removal, going back to January 2017. Martin would not give the governor the ability to retroactively punish an elected official, but it would allow that ejection from office after July 1, 2024.

Martin and Black use the same justification in their bills that the state must protect and preserve history from local officials who might be swayed by "undue influence by groups who may feel offended or hurt by certain actions" in the history of Florida and the nation....

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2023/12/29/jacksonville-decision-on-confederate-monument-praised-and-attacked/72046974007/

[WarDamJagFan]

When Duval is finally, officially well in to predominantly black population status and function, of all the things black people don’t like at that juncture, likely none will complain that there are not enough white folk around.

( By then, even folks like Dean Black moved out, or even worse for him, hunkered down. Fort Life. )

Fair Play

Racist much?

[thelakelander]

Lol, sounds like sour grapes from FP&L. Duval had a higher Black population percentage when that confederate monument was installed.  But we don't really teach true local history in public schools. Never have.

Mourning is a valid human emotion. Just let em vent and cry. Time to move on. Jax has bigger issues to deal with.

[WarDamJagFan]

Lol, sounds like sour grapes from FP&L. Duval had a higher Black population percentage when that confederate monument was installed.  But we don't really teach true local history in public schools. Never have.

Mourning is a valid human emotion. Just let em vent and cry. Time to move on. Jax has bigger issues to deal with.

Agreed. Just waiting for the day that there's something we can even remotely consider water-front entertainment in The River City.  Lenny's Lawn, zombie movie-set-like parcels and McMansions just aren't cutting it.