Jacksonville community activist Benjamin M. Frazier Jr. will be laid to rest Saturday after viewings and a funeral at The Bethel Church.

The service will come two weeks after Frazier, 73, lost his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on June 24, a day after his birthday.

Frazier founded the Northside Coalition in 2016 to improve social, racial and economic justice in the community. The Raines High School alumnus and retired broadcast journalist had been a frequent and vocal critic at government meetings in recent years. He joined protests for independent review of Jacksonville’s police shootings and led many protests to remove Confederate monuments from city parks.

He was arrested in early 2022 when he tried to attend a news conference by Gov. Ron DeSantis at Jacksonville’s state Department of Health facility, decrying DeSantis’ stance on COVID-19 measures.

In mid-January, his comments against a large Confederate statue in Springfield Park ended with his brief arrest, after he refused repeated requests to stop speaking during a public comment period.

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Both charges were dropped.

Visitations will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday night and 9:30 to 10:55 a.m. Saturday at the city’s oldest Baptist church at 215 Bethel Baptist St. Frazier’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, also at The Bethel Church. 

An emotional vigil was held last Tuesday for Frazier at James Weldon Johnson Park, as coalition and other civil rights activists vowed to continue his fight.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in Frazier’s memory, visit the Aaron and Burney Bivens Funeral Home on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park.