• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Statue of Mary McLeod Bethune May Replace That of Confederate General in U.S. Capitol

November 16, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Mary McLeod Bethune rules.
Mary McLeod Bethune rules.

A statue of civil-rights leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune is getting support in both chambers of the Legislature as a replacement for a Confederate general who has long represented Florida in the U.S. Capitol.


Over the objection of a senator who decried “cultural purging,” the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday voted 18-1 to support a proposal (SB 472 and SCR 184) aimed at replacing the statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith in the National Statuary Hall in Washington.

“We’re at a point in our history where we should recognize and embrace the diversity of our state,” former state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, an Orlando Democrat who initially pushed to replace the Smith statue, said while addressing the committee.

Bethune, who in 1904 founded what became Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, was president of the National Association of Colored Women, an appointee by President Herbert Hoover to the White House Conference on Child Health and served as an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt. The university has offered to pay for the statue.

The Legislature voted in 2016 to replace the Smith statue during a nationwide backlash against Confederate symbols in the wake of the 2015 shooting deaths of nine African-American worshippers at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C.

However, lawmakers during the 2017 session did not reach agreement on whose likeness should replace Smith. In advance of the 2018 session, the House is also advancing a measure backing Bethune.

Sen. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican who is the descendant of a Confederate soldier and who has defended the Confederate flag and memorials, said Bethune is worthy of the honor. But Baxley added that he opposed “dishonoring” Smith.

“Regrettably, I can’t vote for this because I think it’s supporting a continuation of cultural purging and dishonoring those who came before us,” Baxley said.

Meanwhile, several supporters of Smith said Wednesday the 2016 legislation isn’t “set in stone” and lawmakers should reconsider the decision.

“Smith fought for what he believed,” said Barbara Hemingway, of American First Team Manatee. “By removing our artifacts and historical statues it only closes the conversation about what history teaches us. Those lessons are valuable to define ourselves and to help improve on them.”

The West Point-educated Smith was born in St. Augustine but had few ties to the state as an adult. After surrendering and taking an oath of loyalty so he could return from Cuba, Smith spent his remaining years as an educator in Tennessee.

Sen. Audrey Gibson, a Jacksonville who described Bethune as an “awesome woman,” rejected arguments that the change destroys history.

“Cultural purging is a war term,” Gibson said. “We’re not at war here. We’re here to talk about what’s already been done actually — taking down one statue of a great American and replacing that with another great American. I don’t see anything about permanency.”

Democrats’ demands for a replacement grew this summer in the wake of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that turned deadly. A plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee helped spur the Charlottesville rally.

Florida State University student Cynthia Colas said statues such as the Smith statue represent those who fought for inequality and stand as a “slap in the face” to many African-Americans like herself.

“We must cease and desist from honoring those who fought for minority enslavement and segregation,” Colas told the committee.

During the 2017 session, the Senate advanced a measure in support of Bethune. But there was no House version. Instead, a bill was proposed in the House for the honor to go to Everglades activist and writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

A panel known as the Great Floridians Committee last year nominated three possible candidates to replace Smith. In addition to Bethune and Douglas, the other nominee was George Washington Jenkins Jr., founder of Lakeland-based Publix supermarket chain.

Each state gets two representatives at the statuary hall, and Smith has represented Florida since 1922.

Florida’s other representative in the hall is John Gorrie, widely considered the father of air conditioning.

Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who voted against the removal of the Smith statue in 2016, supported the Bethune proposal on Wednesday. But she said she might propose legislation to replace Gorrie with Jenkins and to establish a home in Florida for Smith’s statue.

“I want to make sure that we take the statues, who were there representing the state of Florida, and honorably put them in another place so that they can be enjoyed as a landmark, an ancient landmark for the history of the state of Florida,” Stargel said.

The measures advanced Tuesday, a bill and resolution, must now go through the Rules Committee to reach the Senate floor during the 2018 session, which starts in January.

In the House, the Government Accountability Committee has overwhelmingly supported its version of the statue replacement. The measure (HB 139) must get through the House Appropriations Committee before going before the full House.

–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Todd Findley says

    November 16, 2017 at 2:48 pm

    She was a great lady for sure but to replace others history with a statue of her is not the right thing to do , why can`t they leave the confederate statue in place and make a new one of Mary-Mecloud and put it where they want.

    Basically this is not a good idea.

    Reply
  2. Sherry says

    November 16, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    What a wonderful way to honor a great lady. . . and a tribute to something besides WAR and bloodshed!

    Reply
  3. George says

    November 17, 2017 at 9:28 am

    There are many events in history that should not be forgotten, but it doesn’t mean there should be monuments in there name. Slave owning confederates don’t deserve statues. That’s pretty much the most un-American symbol around.

    Reply
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • grand living realty

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Pierre Tristam on The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
  • blerbfamilyfive on Why Will Furry Is Demolishing the Flagler Youth Orchestra
  • We believe the girl on The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
  • DAVE on Flagler Pride Fest Is On Despite Hostile Climate, Drag Show Included, With a Few Cautionary Tucks
  • Blame Game on No, Flagler Beach Isn’t Asking for Money. It’s Asking for Cooperation from County and Cities.
  • Laurel on Behind the Divorce, a Bitter, Threat-Ridden Clash Between Waste Pro and Palm Coast Over Recycling Bins
  • Deborah Coffey on Wadsworth Elementary’s Paul Peacock Is Told He’s Done in Flagler Schools; New Principal To Be Named Later
  • Flatsflyer on Wadsworth Elementary’s Paul Peacock Is Told He’s Done in Flagler Schools; New Principal To Be Named Later
  • Greg on No, Flagler Beach Isn’t Asking for Money. It’s Asking for Cooperation from County and Cities.
  • Bailey’s Mom on Wadsworth Elementary’s Paul Peacock Is Told He’s Done in Flagler Schools; New Principal To Be Named Later
  • jake on Flagler Pride Fest Is On Despite Hostile Climate, Drag Show Included, With a Few Cautionary Tucks
  • Dennis Clark on No, Flagler Beach Isn’t Asking for Money. It’s Asking for Cooperation from County and Cities.
  • Bryan on “A Fitting Conclusion”: Family Speaks of Pilot Ray Miller’s Life of Adventure Before Crash
  • Ray W. on The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
  • Ray W. on The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
  • Dee on Wadsworth Elementary’s Paul Peacock Is Told He’s Done in Flagler Schools; New Principal To Be Named Later

Log in