Advisory committee presents contextualization recommendations for St. Augustine Confederate memorial

Jacksonville, FL — Months after the St. Augustine City Commission opted to keep a Confederate war memorial in place in the Plaza de la Constitucion in downtown, but with added contextualization, we've now learned what's being recommended.

After spending over 20 hours together in meetings discussing the city's history and the history of the memorial, the Confederate Memorial Contextualization Advisory Committee is now recommending adding four plaques to the existing structure.

The plan is to place these four plaques at the bases of each side of the memorial. Each plaque will share a brief story from history with each relating to the following categories: Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory and Interpret.

According to documents released by the city commission, the 'Freedom' plaque would focus on St. Augustine during the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The 'Sacrifice' plaque would focus on the St. Augustine men who fought on both sides, the Confederacy and the Union.

As for the 'Memory' plaque, that would emphasize the monument as an memorial to those who lost their lives fighting.

Lastly, the 'Interpret' plaque would discuss the changing view points of the monument, addressing those who view the memorial as a noble reminder of personal sacrifice and then those who see it as a painful reminder of white supremacy.

You can read more about the recommendations for each plaque by clicking HERE. 

As for the plaques themselves, it's being recommended to use symbolic materials, chosen specifically for the story it tells.