Jacksonville City Council President calls for Confederate memorials to be moved

[thelakelander]

Jacksonville City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche on Monday said she is preparing a plan to relocate all Confederate markers, monuments and memorials that are on public property.

In a written statement, Brosche said she has asked the city's parks department to create an inventory of all Confederate monuments, memorials and markers on public property. Once that list is created, she said she will propose legislation to move them into museums and educational institutions "where they can be respectfully preserved and historically contextualized."

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-08-14/jacksonville-city-council-president-calls-confederate-memorials-be-moved

[mtraininjax]

and so it begins.....

[BridgeTroll]

Next...   

[Jim]

This is a great plan.  It removes the glorification factor while still remembering them as part of history.  In fact, they'll get more academic and historical context in a museum or educational setting.

[lastdaysoffla]

This is a great plan.  It removes the glorification factor while still remembering them as part of history.  In fact, they'll get more academic and historical context in a museum or educational setting.

But far less of the general public will see them and in some cases would have to pay in order to see them.  Whey not contextualize the controversial monuments by having Union monuments or monuments to civil rights heroes or local historical figure that juxtapose or off set the perceived 'hate' emanating from these statues.

[jaxnyc79]

I applaud the Council president's sensitivity; however, if one visits DC, there are many iconic figures of American History who were on the wrong side of the slavery debate.  Maybe they weren't generals in the Civil War because they lived outside of that timeframe in history, but they certainly practiced slave ownership.  The reality is that people are often "mixed bags" of good and bad. 

I wholly support the idea of taking a full inventory of city monuments/statues, just to be sure we are still comfortable with why we honor the person, i.e. is there more good than bad.  In addition, we could also commission new works of art and monuments to stand alongside the existing ones as a demonstration of how we've changed and evolved from these relics of the past...similar to what was suggested by lastdaysoffla...

[remc86007]

I don't think it is likely to happen because of money, but I really like lastdaysoffla's idea. One can draw parallels between it and the typical first amendment argument that the answer to bad speech is more speech, not to get rid of the bad speech.

[lowlyplanner]

I think there's a difference between historical figures who owned slaves and those who decided that owning slaves was more important than remaining a part of their country.

[FlaBoy]

The Hemming Memorial is a memorial to the soldiers from Duval who died in the Civil War, correct?

[icarus]

The Hemming Memorial is a memorial to the soldiers from Duval who died in the Civil War, correct?

We may never know because we are erasing our history because you know .... ignorance is well bliss  and its ironic that the colloquial term is white washing ....

Personally, I'd like a real honest discussion about race and how the social programs of the political parties have contributed if not were designed to keep minorities second class citizens.  To me, in some ways, the crimes against minorities, in the name of social engineering, are the most offensive of all. Lets talk about this .... personally, I'd rather be productive than having a 'sit-in' in front of a plaque or 1 foot tall bust on a stone pillar. I'd rather be talking about how we all move ahead ... and I'd rather be motivated not to repeat the past by a monument than by pretending the oppression never happened.

[KenFSU]

^Really great response.

[Snaketoz]

I can see the merits of both sides of this argument.  The overwhelming majority of rank and file Confederate soldiers did not own slaves.  They fought for their region of the country.  I believe that most weren't fighting for slavery.  Many of the monuments were erected to honor the bravery and sacrifices of those who served.  They served against overwhelming odds.  Years later the descendants of those Southern soldiers served in wars for our nation.  We are now trying to change, with current standards, that which was considered right in times past.  Are we going to demolish the Viet Nam wall in the future?  After all, many innocents were killed.  We bombed, defoliated, and terrorized millions of people for reasons many can't fathom.  I understand this may not be an apple to apple analogy, but in 100 years it may be.  The statues can be thought of as a lesson of our past, not a glorification of slavery. Rewriting history will not change it.

[thelakelander]

There's another side of this debate that continues to be overlooked when it comes to the concept of rewriting history from a local perspective. 

1. How many people today know that Confederate Park isn't the original name of the park? It was originally named Dignan Park, in honor of the city's former chairman of the Board of Public Works, Peter Dignan.  Perhaps if Dignan wasn't Catholic, Jim Crow sentiment would not have led to the public space being renamed Confederate Park in 1914.   

2. How many people today know that Jax is home to a Union Soldier's Monument that predates Charles Hemming's donation to the city by seven years?  This suggests that many of our descendants fought for the Union as well.

3. How many people today know that Jax was the site of the first documented professional performance of the blues on stage?  A performance that took place roughly two blocks north of the county courthouse.

4. How many people know that Jax was a majority black city for most of its history prior to Consolidation?

These are just a few examples where history has been rewritten or ignored over a century of tailoring story telling of the city's development from a singular perspective that dominated the thinking of city leaders during the Jim Crow era.  This place has a fascinating multi-cultural history.  Yet, it's 2017 and we spend more time debating over the merits of saving a false historical narrative while marginalizing our true past and identity to the point that most of us have no real recollection of it.

[jlmann]

The statues can be thought of as a lesson of our past, not a glorification of slavery. Rewriting history will not change it

They can be.  They can also be thought of as a rallying cause for neo-nazis, the KKK and white-nationalist militias.  Because, well, that's exactly what they are today.

I'd like a real honest discussion about race and how the social programs of the political parties have contributed if not were designed to keep minorities second class citizens.

Fine idea, but the political right has zero desire to have that conversation.  In fact the conversation they have day in and day out with their voters is how 99%+ of beneficiaries of social programs are lazy and unworthy.  You can certainly make social programs more efficient and productive, but the national GOP and related parties don't even believe in the concept of social programs, let alone reforming them.

[BridgeTroll]

The statues can be thought of as a lesson of our past, not a glorification of slavery. Rewriting history will not change it

They can be.  They can also be thought of as a rallying cause for neo-nazis, the KKK and white-nationalist militias.  Because, well, that's exactly what they are today.

You don't suppose there is a cause and effect?  Perhaps the decision to tear down the monuments became a rallying cause for the KKK and nazi's.  Washington and Jefferson were slave holders... I wonder what might happen should some decide those memorials be torn down or renamed...