Confederate statue removed from Florida park as Civil War monuments start coming down across US

Symbols of past being removed across country following death of George Floyd

A confederate statue was torn down from a park in Florida on Tuesday, as the removal of monuments of the Civil War spread throughout the country following the death of George Floyd.

The statue that has been in a Jacksonville park since the late 1800s was removed at about 4 am, just hours before a planned protest led by Leonard Fournette, a running back with the local NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mayor Lenny Curry attended the protest outside City Hall and said it was the first of many symbols to the confederacy that would be erased from the city.

“The confederate monument is gone. And the others in this city will be removed as well,” Mr Curry said. “We hear your voices. We have heard your voices.”

Later on Tuesday, the city of Jacksonville confirmed that all confederate symbols would be removed, including three monuments and eight historical markers.

“If our history prevents us from reaching the full potential of our future, then we need to take action,” Mr Curry said. “My staff will work with the Jacksonville cultural council to convene experts in history and art to ensure we acknowledge our past in a full and complete way; a way forward that leaves no person’s heritage or experience behind.”

Following the death of Mr Floyd in police custody, a number of cities have removed or announced their intention to remove confederate monuments, including a statue of General Robert E Lee from Richmond, Virginia.

Also in Virginia, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson confirmed an 1889 memorial named “Appomottos” was removed on 2 June.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the John Breckenridge Castleman monument was removed on Monday, according to Mayor Greg Fischer, while in Birmingham, Alabama, demonstrators at Linn Park attempted to remove a monument on 31 May before Mayor Randall Woodfin vowed to “finish the job”.

Protesters in Montgomery, Alabama were more successful tearing down a statue to General Lee on 1 June, according to WSFA.

The University of Alabama has said it would remove three plaques that commemorate students who served in the confederate army.

In the armed forces, meanwhile, Defence Secretary Mark Esper is “open to bi-partisan discussion” about renaming army bases named after confederate military leaders.

A spokesperson for the Chief of Naval Operations said the Navy would prohibit the confederate flag on all official installations, ships, aircraft and submarines.