I spoke at the Historic Architectural Review Board Meeting February 20, 2020, and I strongly agreed with St. Augustine historian's letter in the Sunday St. Augustine Record about the proposed monument to St. Augustine's African-American soldiers who served in the United States Army and Navy in the Civil War.
The City of St. Augustine has struggled with Confederate monuments since 2017. Both the University of Florida and the City have decided to contextualize, and not remove Confederate monuments.
The University of Florida's process was deeply flawed in that none of the descendants or other local African-Americans were involved. You can watch meeting HARB video (item 7B) including my testimony at: https://staugustinefl.swagit.com/play/02202020-597
I strongly support an evocative statute, e.g., of an African-American soldier reading a book, to go along with the list of names and narrative. It appears UF was cheap and deeply insensitive with this project, which is why HARB unanimously agreed with me.
Agenda backup here: https://citystaug.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=574&month=2&year=2020&day=20&calType=0
In 1879, the City of St. Augustine tabled a motion for such a monument, while allowing one for Confederate veterans. Here, we right a wrong.
Thanks to HARB for unanimously honoring my request to table the item and direct the University of Florida to ask the descendants of our soldiers.
Specifically, I suggested there be consideration to erecting a heroic statue, perhaps of an African-American soldier reading a book, looking across the street at Flagler College.
From the Sunday, February 16, 2020 St. Augustine Record:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Monumentally bad design
David Nolan, St. Augustine
Feb 15, 2020 at 1:07 PM
EDITOR: I applaud the idea of honoring the Black Civil War soldiers in the park behind Government House. It has long been a mistake to only honor the white soldiers (and the Confederates) in this city whose Civil War history was mostly with the Union.
However, as I looked at the proposed design, I had to keep myself from gagging. It looked like nothing so much as a tombstone – hardly worthy of the heroes it is supposed to commemorate.
In 2011, after years of effort by Mrs. Barbara Vickers and others, a beautiful monument to the Foot Soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement was erected in the plaza. Hopefully that set a new standard for the quality of design.
Let's hope the University of Florida sends their proposed monument back to the drawing board and comes up with something excellent to be seen in our public places.
From the. February 21, 2020 St. Augustine Record:
St. Augustine board wants black community’s input on U.S. Colored Troops memorial.
St. Augustine’s Historic Architectural Review Board is asking a University of Florida board to get feedback from people in the black community on a proposed memorial to U.S. Colored Troops from St. Augustine.
Board members also want project officials to get input from relatives of local men who served in the Colored Troops and to bring back concept drawings that show how the memorial will look when it is installed. The board voted unanimously to wait until its April 16 meeting to decide whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness for the project.
The UF Historic St. Augustine board, which cares for state-owned properties in the area, is behind the project.
The memorial would be in the park on the west side of Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum. It’s the same area that hosts a monument to Confederate Gen. William Loring and his ashes.
UF Historic St. Augustine decided to add the U.S. Colored Troops memorial instead of moving the Loring Monument or pursuing other options.
Some people in the community are still advocating for removal of both the Loring monument and the city’s memorial to Confederate soldiers, which is a short distance to the east in the Plaza de la Constitucion. Others have opposed moving the structures.
HARB member Gaere MacDonald said he was glad that UF Historic St. Augustine had decided to keep the Loring monument and add the U.S. Colored Troops memorial.
“I don’t think we should rewrite history,” he said.
He said he supported getting feedback from black residents and relatives of the men who will be listed on the monument.
“Because it’s their monument, really,” MacDonald said.
HARB member Jon Benoit encouraged the university to go out into the community for input.
“We have to work harder to go find those voices,” he said.
St. Augustine men were among those who fought against the Confederacy in the U.S. Colored Troops, according to a plaque at the base of St. Augustine’s Confederate soldiers memorial.
“The USCT fought in segregated units led by white officers. They raided coastal areas, liberated thousands of enslaved persons, and in 1863 the Colored Troops led the way in occupying Jacksonville, Florida, and in 1865 restored the Stars and Stripes to Charleston, South Carolina, where the war began,” according to the plaque.
Billy Triay, property manager for UF Historic St. Augustine, said the project content has been developed with the help of historians Susan Parker and Thomas Graham.
When asked about the planning process, Triay said the design is intended to be timeless.
“It’s not meant to evoke a feeling. This is meant to give the facts. ... It’s very subtle, but it’s very impactful,” he said.
Graham spoke in support of the memorial at the meeting.
Board members seemed happy with the idea for the memorial but wanted to get a better sense of what the structure will look like in its setting.
While the design is still being finalized, it’s expected to be about 8 feet tall with three granite panels. The memorial will list names of local men who served in the Colored Troops.
“We all think it’s an important monument,” HARB member Catherine Duncan said.
UF Historic St. Augustine has largely followed the decisions of the city of St. Augustine. The city decided in 2017 to keep a memorial to local men who served the Confederacy. The city added plaques to the base of the memorial to add historical context.
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