Sen. Lauren Book (D-Plantation) wants to roll back Florida’s confederate holiday observances.
Florida recognizes the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis in addition to Confederate Memorial Day. Book says after the deadly showdown in Charlottesville, Florida needs to reconsider the holidays.
“I think that what having a holiday is or having monuments is, [is] to glorify what something is or was or to honor or pay homage to it,” Books says, “and I don’t think that that is something that is appropriate.”
Book insists her legislation isn’t meant to whitewash or conceal the past.
“Because if we erase history we are damned to repeat it,” Book says. “But [it’s] important to learn about it and heed it—not to place it on a pedestal and put in our public square.”
Florida is one of seven states recognizing Confederate Memorial Day, many of those states commemorate confederate officials like Lee and Davis as well.
Book filed her measure Friday. By Monday she says she was receiving death threats.
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