People in Jacksonville are expressing their sympathy after the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, and calling for action on racial issues here.
The Northside Coalition of Jacksonville held a demonstration Monday outside of Jacksonville City Hall to honor the lives lost in Buffalo when a white supremacist killed 10 and wounded three others. Most of the victims were Black.
The coalition repeated calls to remove Confederate monuments in the city, including the Women of the Confederacy in Springfield Park.
Dozens of people gathered at City Hall and chanted “take them down.” Northside Coalition founder Ben Frazier organized the event.
“I believe that in the end we will win," Frazier said. "I believe that we must as a city begin to work harder together for truth and justice to treat everybody fair.”
City Council is considering two pieces of legislation dealing with monuments — one calling for a public referendum on all historic monuments and the other setting aside $500,000 to remove Confederate monuments.
A council committee voted Monday not to put the referendum on the ballot, according to News4Jax, a WJCT News partner.
