Emotions overflowed and personal attacks fired among Floridians Tuesday night when Alachua County Commissioners voted 3-2 to relocate a controversial Confederate statue in downtown Gainesville.
Commissioners reached the decision after a lengthy debate muddled with conflicting opinions and interpretations of the statue and what should be done about it.
Under the approved ordinance motioned by County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson, private funds will be used to move the statue to the museum and maintain it. The motion also requires the museum to display the statue in a public, outdoor space.
In an email sent to Assistant County Manager of Public and Administrative Services Gina Peebles, Matheson Museum Executive Director Peggy Macdonald wrote that the museum’s board of directors had agreed to consider accepting the statue.
"Funding for such a move would factor into the board’s consideration of any potential offer from the County Commission," Macdonald wrote in the email.
There is currently no exact estimate on how much moving the statue will cost.
County Commissioner Mike Byerly mentioned one estimate of $11,000 cost during the meeting.
Some see the monuments as symbols of racism and white supremacy. Others say the monuments represents Southern heritage.
Michael Tubbs, 55, came from Jacksonville to voice his opinion on the statue, which he and many others see as an honor to Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War.
"The attack on this monument is not an isolated incident," the construction worker said.
"After 150 years we are still at war, and our enemies wish to erase not only our monuments but we as a people," he said.
County Commissioner Charles Chestnut IV, said he wants to be able to use the statue to teach his children about their history and the oppression and slavery African Americans lived through.
It’s important to teach history, he said, otherwise people are doomed to repeat it.
Jason Davis said he never paid much attention to the Confederate statue in downtown Gainesville. The 42-year-old took a closer look Tuesday evening, however, before the commission meeting.
"When you think about the Confederacy, it brings a lot of division," said Davis, a Santa Fe College student earning his associate degree. "We don’t need division. We need more unity in the United States."
The father of a 6-year-old child, Davis said he wants to end racism and make a difference in society for others and his son.
"I’m working to do all this for him as well," he said.
Contact Hunter Williamson at hwilliamson@alligagtor.org and follow him on Twitter @hunterewilliam
