Late activist Ben Frazier in line for City Council honor

Saying that Ben Frazier’s “heart was deeply connected to our city,” multiple Jacksonville City Council members have submitted a resolution honoring his life just a month after he lost his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Frazier, who died at age 73, was a veteran TV news journalist and anchor who founded the Northside Coalition in 2016. He often would speak out against Confederate monuments and in support of Black Lives Matter. He was a regular speaker at City Council meetings, as well as rallies outside City Hall and elsewhere in the city.

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The resolution is scheduled to be introduced to City Council on Tuesday. In says Frazier was an “inspiration through the words he chose to speak,” a tireless voice for the voiceless, and an ardent supporter of voting rights, non-violent protest and speaking truth to power.

The resolution says Frazier also was a member of the Jacksonville Journey and the city’s Task Force on Safety and Crime Reduction, and had won NAACP’s Rutledge H. Pearson Civil Rights Award. He also addressed the United Nations Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination in Geneva just under a year ago, specifically to speak out against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial anti-riot law.

The resolution must be approved by committee before the mayor’s signature would finalize it. It was introduced by Council members Reggie Gaffney Jr., Ju’Coby Pittman, Tyrona Clark-Murray and Matt Carlucci, plus past member Joyce Morgan and current council President Ron Salem.