Jacksonville group pushes Confederate monument debate following civil rights leader’s passing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Monday afternoon, the Unity Project of Jacksonville took to city hall with one message in mind: protecting the lone remaining Confederate monument in Jacksonville.

The organization also argues for the importance of adding important context to that monument, such as a mention of the slave trade in Jacksonville.

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“We need to protect all of our history so that we keep all of our memories and all of our lessons,” said Unity Project of Jacksonville coordinator Blake Harper.

This pro-monument event comes just two days after the passing of Northside Coalition founder and longtime Jacksonville civil rights leader Ben Frazier, who called for the removal of Jacksonville’s last remaining confederate statue in Springfield Park.

With Frazier’s passing, Jacksonville city councilman Matt Carlucci is confident someone else will take the mantle and honor all that Frazier stood for.

“His voice will be missed, but there will be other people that pick up that torch and I’m sure, do their best to maybe not fill his shoes, but walk alongside them,” said Carlucci.

Action News Jax has also reached out to the Northside Coalition and Take ‘Em Down Jax for a statement in response to the Unity Project’s event on Monday, saying their stance on the issue of confederate monuments remains the same and that they continue to support the removal of the remaining monument.

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