FL Confederate Monument Removed In $187K Project

JACKSONVILLE — A monument was removed Wednesday from Springfield Park after city officials said it represented an early 20th-century era that justified Jim Crow laws and intimidated African Americans.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan announced a large statue and a smaller statue in the Tribute to the Women of the Southern Confederacy memorial were removed with grant money through the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and anonymous donors by way of 904Ward.

Deegan said a plaque was also removed, and engravings of a pedestal were covered with temporary plaques. The price tag for the project was $187,000, an amount agreed upon between 904Ward and ACON Construction, city officials said.

“Symbols matter. They tell the world what we stand for and what we aspire to be. By removing the Confederate monument from Springfield Park, we signal a belief in our shared humanity. That we are all created equal. The same flesh and bones. The same blood running through our veins. The same heart and soul,” Deegan said in a news release.

“This is not in any way an attempt to erase history, but to show that we’ve learned from it. That when we know better, we do better by and for each other. My prayer today is for our beautiful city to continue embracing unity and bending the arc of history towards justice. Let’s keep lifting as we climb.”

The approval of the Jacksonville City Council was deemed unneccessary since city money was not used or requested for the work, city officials said, citing the Office of General Counsel's review of Deegan's executive authority.

“Our legal analysis finds that Mayor Deegan has the authority as executive of the city – and because city funds are not being utilized – to control the property, the park and the monument," General Counsel Michael Fackler said in the release. “We have worked closely with procurement, public works and parks on the approved scope of work in accordance with municipal code in how we contract for and complete these services.”

News4Jax reported Wednesday that by 11 a.m., the monument was completely gone from the park and taken to a warehouse in the Brentwood area.

The outlet reported the removal in Springfield came after the pedestal for a monument in James Weldon Johnson Park was taken down in May.