Memorials to be erected to victims of Holocaust, slavery on Capitol grounds show how far we've come | Opinion
Thanks to Rep. Kionne McGhee (D-Miami-Dade), attorney Steve Uhlfelder and many supporters, two monumental and powerful memorials are being planned for the grounds of the Florida Capitol. One will honor victims of the Holocaust and the other will honor victims of slavery.
In 2016, Florida lawmakers agreed to fund a memorial to the Holocaust. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) in Nov. 2019 filed an appropriation request for $1 million for design, construction and installation of the Holocaust memorial.
In 2018, the Legislature approved funding for a memorial to slavery. Hopefully, an appropriation request for the memorial to slavery will be filed and approved in the 2020 Florida legislative session, which started Jan. 14.
In the future, visitors to the capital city grounds will gaze upon the memorial to slavery and have questions: What does the memorial represent? What is racism? Why is there racism? What is slavery? What is the legacy of slavery? What is the legacy of racism?
The Florida State University Civil Rights Institute, founded in 2018, is embedded within the School of Library Science and is guided by a world class group of FSU professors, deans, administrators, attorneys and librarians.
The FSU Civil Rights Institute is poised to become an institute of higher learning where students, teachers and citizens, both young and old, can come and study the real history of America. It is the history of slavery, the economic engine that drove American capitalism, and the civil rights movement that has championed and forced equal rights and equal opportunities for all American citizens.
Erecting these two memorials on the Capitol's grounds represents faith in the fundamental goodness of humankind. Florida lawmakers are to be congratulated.
And finally, a call to action: If you are of like mind and spirit, you are invited to become a part of the Florida State University Civil Rights Institute. To stay up-to-date on the latest information, follow FSU Libraries on Facebook.
Fred H. Flowers is an attorney and civil rights advocate. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org or 850-681-2303.
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