Florida Mayor Removes Confederate Monument Amid Controversy

In Florida, a controversy has arisen over the removal of a Confederate monument. The mayor of Jacksonville, Donna Deegan, ordered the removal of the “Women of the Southland” statue from Springfield Park, formerly known as Confederate Park. This decision has sparked accusations of overreach and abuse of power from Republican city council member Nick Howland.

Deegan, a Democrat, stated that the monument honoring women of the Confederacy was removed with funding from a grant provided by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and anonymous donations made to 904WARD, a local racial justice group. The memorial was erected in the early 20th century as part of a campaign to promote and justify Jim Crow laws in the South and intimidate African Americans. In 2020, the city renamed the park from Confederate Park to Springfield Park “amid protests ignited by the City and the nation’s call for change on racism.”

The 41-foot-tall monument features a mother embracing her two children at the top, with a plaque reading: “Let this mute but eloquent structure speak to generations to come of a generation of the past. Let it repeat perpetually the imperishable story of our women of the ’60s, those noble women who sacrificed their all upon their country’s altar.”

Mayor Deegan emphasized that symbols matter and that they tell the world what a society stands for and what it aspires to be. By removing the Confederate monument, she signaled a belief in shared humanity, that we are all created equal, and that we are all part of the same flesh, blood, and soul. The cost of the work, which includes the removal of plaques and engravings, is $187,000 as part of an agreement between 904WARD and ACON Construction.

In response to the removal, Republican state representative Dean Black criticized the action as an example of cancel culture gone too far. He argued that such monuments serve as painful reminders of a divisive past and contribute to a climate that perpetuates inequality.