SPLC to Jacksonville Mayor: #MoveItNow

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In June 2020, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry promised to remove the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy in Springfield Park. While the statue has been covered, it still sits in a public park, representing one of the most immoral times in American history.

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

“For more than a century, Confederate monuments have been used to glorify those who fought to preserve chattel slavery. Memorials like the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy are a stark reminder of our country’s attachment to white supremacy culture.

“This outsized monument is just another prop sponsored by the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) to assert white supremacist ideals and instill fear in Black Americans. Throwing a tarp over it does not mask the pain its presence continues to cause. In fact, it only highlights that it’s been more than one year since Mayor Curry promised that he would remove not only this monument, but all of Jacksonville’s Confederate monuments from the public landscape.

“It is long past time for this monument placed to advance the false narrative of groups like UCV and the United Daughters of the Confederacy to be expelled from Springfield Park. Those who fought for and supported the Confederacy did so to continue the inhumane enslavement of Black people in this country. It is time to reimagine this park as a space that is welcoming to all of Jacksonville.

“The SPLC joins the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville* and concerned community members in calling for Mayor Curry to follow through on his pledge to remove not only the shrine in Springfield Park, but all Confederate monuments littering the city of Jacksonville.

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