Statue Replacement Bill On its Way to the Governor’s Desk
February 20th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
A three-year push to replace the statue of Confederate General Kirby Smith currently representing Florida in the nation’s Capitol is on its way to the Governor’s desk.
The replacement will be civil rights activist and founder of Bethune-Cookman University, Marry McLeod Bethune.
The Bethune-Cookman choir opened the House session before the vote, singing the national anthem. The Legislation passed with just one no vote from Jacksonville Representative Jay Fant. Bethune-Cookman University Interim-President Hubert Grimes says the no vote doesn’t take away from the accomplishment.
“Today is a great day. It’s a day for all Floridians. It’s a day that we can all look back and say we’re more alike than apart, that we can work together, that we can build bridges and that this is going to be a defining moment in the life of our founder,” said Grimes.
Bethune will be the first African American to represent a state in the National Statuary Hall if the Governor approves the Legislation.
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