South Florida Rep Wants to Remove Every Confederate Monument in State

When Broward County state Rep. Shevrin Jones protested in Hollywood, Florida, to demand the city rename streets honoring former Confederate generals and a Ku Klux Klan leader, a group of counterprotesters shouted racial slurs at him, calling him a "n****r" and a "monkey" and telling him to "go back where {he} came from."

Jones isn't going anywhere. Today he announced he plans to formally file a bill to remove every Confederate statue, sign, or name from public property in Florida after a white supremacist murdered a woman during a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last Saturday.

"I feel, as diverse as our state is, it's important that we take the lead in showing that we're a country of one people," Jones told New Times via phone. "My colleagues always like to claim that Florida is taking the lead in this or that category. I think it would be great for us to take the lead ending hatred and bigotry."

Jones, a Democrat, is a Hollywood native whose 101st District covers portions of that city plus Hallandale Beach, Miramar, and Pembroke Pines. He says he plans to introduce the bill in time for the 2018 legislative session and does not think Gov. Rick Scott necessarily needs to call a special summer meeting to vote on the bill immediately.

Read more: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/south-florida-rep-shevrin-jones-to-file-bill-to-remove-florida-confederate-monuments-9597556