In a 10-7 vote Tuesday, Jacksonville’s City Council decided against renaming the Springfield street after the late local civil rights activist Ben Frazier.

Confederate Street spans just 0.2 miles, and it leads to the former Confederate Park  — since renamed Springfield Park — where bronze Confederate statues once stood. Mayor Donna Deegan removed the last of those statues last year, six months after the death of one of their most vocal detractors, the 73-year-old Frazier. He died of cancer in June 2023. 

Kelly Frazier, the late activist’s daughter, predicted earlier during Tuesday’s meeting that the legislation to honor her father would fail.

“This will be an unfortunate decision, and will reflect poorly on City Council, as well as our entire community, which yearns for progress and unity,” said Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, which her father previously helmed.

When the vote was tallied later that evening, those who voted against the renaming included Council President Randy White and members Kevin Carrico, Raul Arias, Joe Carlucci, Terrance Freeman, Nick Howland, Mike Gay, Will Lahnen, Chris Miller and Ron Salem. Council members Rory Diamond and Ju’Coby Pittman had excused absence from the meeting.

Article continues below

More from Jax Today

PHOTO ESSAY | What happens after Jacksonville flushes

Nights of Lights will shine this weekend in St. Augustine

UF Health begins expansion of trauma center

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

It wasn’t until after the vote that any council discussion was had on the topic, though none of the people who voted against the bill offered up their reasoning.

Council member Michael Boylan said he was not a fan of Frazier’s, but voted in favor of the renaming because he felt the proposed name could still provoke dialogue on race and equality.

“(Frazier) disparaged me on a public radio station I used to run on the very program I created,” Boylan said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Yet I did forgive him and understood his intent.” Boylan was the former CEO of WJCT Public Media before he retired and ran for public office.

(Editor’s disclosure: WJCT Public Media also publishes Jacksonville Today.) 

At a Sept. 3 Rules Committee discussion on the same bill, Boylan said he’d worked to improve race relations in Jacksonville for years, including by serving as vice chair of the Safer Together committee on policing — but he had resigned from the group over its decision to recommend a civilian review board. In turn, he said, Frazier had called him a “white, privileged coward.”

So when the bill came up Tuesday, Boylan said although it gave him “consternation,” he ultimately decided to support it.

“I think we can use Frazier Place as a place for an open, honest and meaningful dialog,” Boylan had said at the Rules Committee meeting. “I think every opportunity we have to create forums and locations for people to come together to understand their differences, we need to make sure we move those forward.”

Council member Jimmy Peluso, who represents the district that includes Springfield, introduced the bill to rename the road. After the vote, he said he was disappointed in his colleagues’ choice.

“I do find it odd… This was very district centric. I had buy-in from neighbors. This was in my district. This was a street that was only in my district. It didn’t affect any of you,” he said. 

Kelly Frazier said that while the City Council stopped many of Ben Frazier’s efforts during his lifetime, ”In the end, he was victorious.”

She said school names no longer glorify Confederates and there is no Confederate monument in front of City Hall. Plus, the statues in Springfield Park were removed. 

“His efforts to remove symbols of oppression and his advocacy for a more inclusive Jacksonville have left an indelible mark on our city,” Frazier said. “Renaming Confederate Street to Frazier Place would have been a fitting tribute to his legacy and a step towards healing the wounds of our past.”

Corrected: An earlier version of this article stated that council member Boylan voted against the bill. He actually voted in favor of it. We regret the error.