Jacksonville Mayor says all Confederate monuments will be removed

Jacksonville, FL —
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Cury says the removal of the long-standing Confederate monument at Hemming Park is only the start of what is to come. He told a crowd gathered outside of City Hall that other Confederate monuments will also be removed.

“Yesterday there was Confederate monument in this park. It’s gone. And the others in this city will be removed as well”, Curry said as he explained a number of issues like body cameras, infrastructure and economic opportunity will be address ahead.

“I’ve evolved on the issue”, Curry later said at a rally outside the Duval County Courthouse.

WOKV reached out to the city to learn what the next steps in this process are. They say all confederate monuments and markers at eight different locations across the city will be removed. They say they are not sure when they’ll be removed or in what order.

The following markers and monuments are the ones set to be removed by the city:

• The Confederate Monument in Hemming Park.
• The Monument to the Women of the Southland (Monument to the Women of the Confederacy) In Confederate Park in Springfield.
• The Grandstand - Confederate Memorial Services at the Old City Cemetery.
• The Maple Leaf marker on the Northbank Riverwalk.
• The Maple Leaf marker at the Walter Jones Historical Park in Mandarin.
• The Florida Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home marker in the Old City Cemetery.
• The Line of Entrenchment marker on the the southwest corner of the old Jacksonville Terminal at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.
• The Skirmish At ceder Creek marker on Lenox Avenue near Ceder Creek.
• The 1914 United Confederate Veteran's Reunion marker in Confederate Park.
• The informational and tree signs at Camp Milton Historic Preserve.
• The In Memory of Our Beloved Ancestors marker at the Old Center Cemetery.

We’re told the city will take them down safely preserving them for the time being until the mayor’s staff and Jacksonville Cultural Council can speak with experts in history and art to ultimately figure out what they will do with them.

Curry told a crowd that he understands the anger and frustration following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  Curry said he would walk with demonstrators at a march through downtown that was organized by Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette.

“This is bigger than me, this is bigger than football”, Fournette said.

WOKV first reported before 5 am when the statue in Hemming Park was removed and loaded on a trailer.

According to the Florida Archaeology Network, the monument was donated to the State of Florida by Charles C and Lucy Key Hemming. Standing at 62 feet, the Confederate monument in Hemming park was one of the few landmarks of Jacksonville that survived the 1901 fire.

Mayor Curry also announced he would soon file legislation to bring together independent voices from the community to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney’s Office and Mayor’s Office.