Federal court hears challenge to Confederate monuments funded by taxpayers in Florida
Confederate monuments are once again at the center of legal and public debate in Jacksonville, this time inside a federal courtroom.
Former attorney Earl Johnson Jr. is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to revive his 2021 lawsuit, which aims to stop the city and state from using public funds to preserve Confederate tributes on taxpayer-owned property.
Johnson, who is the son of a civil rights attorney who once represented Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., argues that public symbols honoring the Confederacy are not just relics, but represent government-backed white supremacy that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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'The purpose of this court in terms of my case is to lay out the ground rules – where does the state stand? Where does the city stand, as it relates to Confederate monuments?' Johnson said.
The lawsuit, originally dismissed last year due to lack of standing, lists Mayor Donna Deegan and more than 30 Confederate-related memorials, plaques, and names statewide.
Outside the federal courthouse on Hogan Street, demonstrators rallied in support of the case. Protesters held signs and chanted calls for change, saying the monuments inflict ongoing harm, particularly on Jacksonville's Black residents.
'These are modern-day 'whites only' signs,' Johnson said. 'They tell me, as a Black man, that I'm not worthy — that I'm a second-class citizen.'
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Kelly Frazier with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville joined the rally and said the monuments are more than just statues.
'They're symbols of hate. They're shrines to rebellion that fought to keep our ancestors in chains,' Frazier said.
A courtroom sketch captured a look inside the federal hearing.
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Activists say the fight goes beyond removing statues, calling instead for a broader reckoning with the legacy of racial injustice in public spaces.
A decision from the appeals court could take weeks or months.
Action News Jax reached out to Mayor Donna Deegan's office for comment. A spokesperson responded, 'We decline to comment on the pending lawsuit.'
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