The public forum to discuss a proposal to relocate Confederate monuments is set for this week in downtown Jacksonville.
It’s organized by Jacksonville author and Florida State College at Jacksonville Professor Tim Gilmore and son of former Mayor John Delaney, Bill Delaney of Modern Cities.
Appearing on Tuesday’s “First Coast Connect,” Delaney said he hopes people can have a frank, practical discussion.
“It’s really easy to get caught up in the shouting back and forth to the point where they really don’t even know what they’re saying. They are fueled with emotion,” he said.
Gilmore said having an open discussion will hopefully lead to finding some common ground.
City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche called for a Confederate monument inventory last month days after a woman was killed during violent protests in Virginia over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee there.
Brosche said at the time she intends to introduce legislation to move the monuments off of public property. And while she hasn’t introduced a bill yet, her call has prompted dozens of people to comment at recent City Council meetings.
The forum ”Remove, Replace, Recontextualize: Jax Confederate Monuments” is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hourglass Pub and Coffee House on Bay Street.
Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.
