If you’re out at Klutho Park in Springfield, you might notice a modern-style giraffe statue overlooking the green spaces. It’s there to mark the site of Jacksonville’s first zoo, which was built in the early 1900s.

Ben Frazier, the leader of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, led a rally Tuesday evening and spoke in front of the city council for the first time since his removal in handcuffs from a December meeting.

A proposal that would let Jacksonville voters have the final say on whether to take down historical monuments, including one in particular that’s tied to the Confederacy, was introduced to the City Council during its Tuesday evening meeting.

For the first time, city leaders will hear a proposal that would let Jacksonville voters have the final say on whether to take down historical monuments, including one connected to the Confederacy.

City Councilman Rory Diamond introduced legislation that would institute a two-year moratorium on future renaming, and now that bill is facing opposition and questions about the legislations motive. Even though that bill was withdrawn, Diamond wants to slow down the renaming process. Diamond is proposing a two-year moratorium on renaming Jacksonville parks, schools and public facilities, arguing the city should focus on the pandemic and rebuilding the local economy. Dennis said he wants to fully understand Diamonds motive before the city agrees to pump the brakes on renaming projects for the next two years. The issue is expected to be discussed during the next City Council meeting.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The process for the Jacksonville City Council to consider changing the names of two city parks continued Tuesday. One would change the name of Confederate Park to Springfield Park. The other bill would change the name of Hemming Park, which is in front of City Hall, to James Weldon Johnson Park. The proposal came a week after a Confederate monument was removed from Hemming Park, the downtown city plaza framed on two sides by City Hall and the federal courthouse. The park is currently named after Civil War veteran Charles Hemming, who donated the Confederate memorial to the state of Florida in 1898.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. It was nearly a month ago that Mayor Lenny Curry ordered the Confederate statue in Hemming Park to come down in the middle of the night. News4Jax has been checking, and on Friday we found that the statue at Confederate Park in downtown Jacksonville is now covered in a tarp. The sign for the Springfield park was also taken down. There is an effort by the City Council to rename Confederate Park to Springfield Park. The marker has been removed from the gravesites for Confederate soldiers but a bandstand still remains.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Jacksonville City Council has introduced legislation to change the name of Confederate Park to Springfield Park. The ordinance was introduced by District 7 Councilman Reggie Gaffney. The park was first named Dignan Park in 1907 after a chairman of the Board of Public Works. The city renamed the park in 1914 after the United Confederate Veterans chose Jacksonville as the site for their annual reunion. According to the ordinance, the Council found that under current circumstances it is appropriate to rename the park.