Statement on the Removal of the Springfield Park Confederate Statue

December 27, 2023 (Jacksonville, Florida) – Jessie Ball duPont Fund President Mari Kuraishi released the following statement this morning:

"Great cities are anchored by inclusive public spaces that welcome all. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund helped fund the removal of the Springfield Park Confederate statue so that our public spaces might be more welcoming and inclusive for all Jaxsons. Removing – but not erasing – statues that commemorate the Confederacy from public lands is critical to creating communities where everyone feels they belong.

"We applaud Mayor Donna Deegan’s bold action and clarity of vision. We are grateful to nonprofit partners like 904ward who are leading equity work in our city.

"Funding this work continues our engagement on the issue of monuments and commemoration, which dates back more than five years, starting with hosting a series of community conversations about what to do with our Confederate monuments, and the longstanding offer from two years ago to pay for and facilitate additional public conversations in response to City Council interest. What we do next as a city now that the statue has been removed is just as important as the removal itself, and we look forward to continued conversations."