‘Not too happy’ to ‘overjoyed:’ Reaction to removal of Jacksonville’s final Confederate monument

Alexus Cleavenger
·1 min read
26

The final standing Confederate monument in Jacksonville is now gone.

Action News Jax brought you updates Wednesday morning as construction crews worked to remove the “Women of Confederacy Monument.”

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In the early morning hours before the sun came up, a group of people gathered at the gates of Springfield Park.

Some were cheering and chanting. But another person was frustrated.

“The mayor should not be doing this,” Pat Geer said. “I’m not too happy with it.”

RELATED: Final Confederate monument in Jacksonville comes down in Springfield Park

They all watched the Confederate monument get taken down, piece-by-piece.

The monument is the last Confederate monument in Jacksonville.

Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the removal of the statue. She said in a statement, in part, “This is not in any way an attempt to erase history but to show that we’ve learned from it.”

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“It really is a new day in Jacksonville,” City Councilman Jimmy Peluso said.

Peluso joined dozens of people to watch it all unfold.

“Today I feel overjoyed,” Joe Ross Sr. said. “I feel my ancestors are smiling. We were are able to stand up against hate.”

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Ross is a part of the Northside Coalition. That’s the organization late activist Ben Frazier was president of since its founding in 2015. Frazier died in August, but they’ve fought to take the monument down for years.

“Ben would be dancing,” Ross said. “Ben would be dreaming. He would be overjoyed.”

While Peluso said he’s not sure where the statue will go, he believes the overall takedown is something the community wanted.

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