Ben Frazier was a hard-charging civil rights activist who lead protest rallies against the the Confederate monument in Springfield Park, got arrested twice for making demands on behalf of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, and won international attention for his crusade near the end of his life.
Frazier didn’t live long enough to see Mayor Donna Deegan order the removal of the Confederate monument last December from Springfield Park. But in a posthumous honor for him, the city could rename Confederate Street near the park for him by calling it “Frazier Place.”
A public hearing on the legislation ( 2024-0543 ) during the Tuesday meeting of City Council showed Frazier’s legacy is still as much of a lighting rod in death as it was in life.
Three people told City Council that Frazier was a divisive figure whose tactics with the Northside Coalition, which he founded in 2016, don’t deserve a street being named for him. They said council shouldn’t waive an ordinance that the city cannot rename a street for someone until at least five years after his death.