JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — More Jacksonville organizations are coming forward fighting for the removal of confederate monuments and protesting a proposed Florida bill that would make the removal illegal.
Representatives with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, Take Em Down Jax, and many others gathered in front of City Hall Tuesday. Many say its been a yearlong fight and won't stop until there is change.
"Take them down! Take them down," many chanted in front of City Hall Tuesday. "If you think that it is okay, you're not trying to preserve history, you're trying to preserve white supremacy, and that is inexcusable."
They also argued a bill filed by State Representative Dean Black. House Bill 395: Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act; protects historical monuments and memorials from removal, damage, or destruction and allows the Governor to remove a local official who removes a monument. The bill says a monument can only be relocated temporarily for construction of a nearby area.
Joseph Maceo George with the North Florida Central Labor Council called the bills language 'racist, discriminatory, and against democracy.'
"The bill prevents our elected officials to do what's right," Joseph Maceo George with the North Florida Central Labor Council said.
Northside Coalition of Jacksonville President Kelly Frazier also demanded the removal.
"All of it is ridiculous. It's not something that we want here. It needs to be gone," Frazier said.
Black argues the removal of historical monuments has gone too far and the purpose of the legislation is to protect history for all Floridians.
"Historic monuments are historic works of art, and they should be preserved for all Floridians. Whether they're in Jacksonville or somewhere else. History belongs to all of us. And it should be protected so that we can learn from it. And we can contextualize it, we can add to it. We should add to our history, not subtract from it," State Representative Dean Black said.
George says the fight to get rid of the monuments will continue.
"No legislation is going to stop us. We're going to keep on fighting. Even if we have to take this up to the Supreme Court, we're not going to stop fighting," George said.
Frist Coast News asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about House Bill 395 during his stop in Jacksonville Tuesday. He said he isn't familiar with the language. If the bill is successful, it could go into effect July 1 of next year.