SPLC to Full Jacksonville City Council: It’s Not Too Late to Remove Symbol of Hate from Springfield Park

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last week, three Jacksonville City Council committees voted to leave the Women of the Southland monument standing in Springfield Park. This decision followed Mayor Lenny Curry’s promise to remove all of Jacksonville’s Confederate monuments from public spaces in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.

The following statement is from SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks:

“When Jacksonville’s full City Council convenes next week, they should vote to remove the Women of the Southland monument from public property. We ask that council members lead with thoughts of what’s best for the entire community instead of further protecting the ideology of white supremacy.

“Confederate symbols honoring traitors to the United States should never have been prominently placed in public spaces to begin with. Their presence is a daily reminder of the racial terror, oppression, and segregation Black people endured before, during, and after the Civil War was lost.

“Jacksonville’s leaders cannot and should not put a dollar amount on the pain and dehumanization symbols of white supremacy represent.”