JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would place a historical marker by the store where three Black people were killed last year.
Aug. 26 will mark one year since the shooting at the Dollar General on Kings Road that killed Angela Carr, A.J. Laguerre, Jr. and Jerrald Gallion.
According to city council members, the historical marker will be placed in a shaded area on Kings Road that is now a city park. It's down the street from Dollar General; for the past year, three crosses and artificial flowers have been placed there.
First Coast News spoke with people in the neighborhood about the plans for the historical marker. Crecie Washington sees the Dollar General every time she walks outside her house.
"I think it’s a good idea," Washington said "But it needs to be in an area where people have access to it and family of the victims have access to it.”
At-large City Councilmember Matt Carlucci is a co-sponsor of the legislation creating the marker.
“When people read that 20 years from now, they’ll understand what happened and that they don’t want that to happen again,” he said.
Not everyone agrees with where the historical marker is planned to be placed. Both the current and past presidents of the Grand Park Community Association believe it should be on the site of the shooting at Dollar General. The president of Jacksonville’s NAACP believes, like Creasie, there should be a larger memorial than a historical marker.
One thing everyone agrees on is the tragedy and Carr, Laguerre and Gallion must be remembered by the community.
“They need to put more emphasis on letting the world know and the community know what happened,” said Washington.
On August 25, there is an inaugural memorial and soil collection ceremony planned to honor the shooting victims. The event by City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, 904ward and the City of Jacksonville is planned for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the new Kings Road Memorial Park at Kings Road and Almeda Street in Jacksonville.