Jacksonville City Council rejects hate crimes bill

A bill to toughen penalties for hate crimes in Jacksonville failed to convince city councilors on Tuesday evening.

With only seven of the 19 council members voting yes, the bill – named after Johnnie Mae Chappel, who was killed in a racist attack 60 years ago – was rejected Tuesday night.

Council members who voted against the ordinance cited First Amendment concerns because it imposes penalties for hate speech. The bill failed to receive recommendations in two council committees and narrowly passed a third committee last week by a tie vote.

Before Tuesday's vote, Jacksonville's Northside Coalition held a rally on the steps of City Hall calling for passage of the bill. The bill would triple fines and prison sentences for crimes proven to be hate-motivated, including littering, noise disturbances and light projection.

At the rally, Kelly Frazier, daughter of the late civil rights leader Ben Frazier and chair of the Northside Coalition, recalled August 26 one year ago, when a gunman killed three people at a Dollar General store and left an entire community in mourning.

“Our city and communities have cried out and called on our elected officials to do something,” Frazier said. “Do something to show us that you care when something tragic like this happens in our neighborhood.”

She said the shooting – along with anti-Semitic messages on buildings and overpasses, hateful graffiti on buildings and disturbing leaflets in residential areas – was a reminder “that hate is not only real, it is dangerous.”

“This bill is more than just a law. It is a beacon of hope, a shield of protection and a testament to the values ​​of our community. Our city has seen the devastating effects of hate once too often.”

8th District Councilman Jimmy Peluso, who introduced the bill, repeated her request from the council dais.

“If you criticize this law, I understand that,” Peluso told his colleagues. “But I ask you to open your eyes and recognize that this is a symbol of healing for this city and this community.”

Michael Boylan, a Mandarin city councillor and one of the bill's supporters, said he received an email urging him to vote against it.

He said he had tabled amendments to the bill in committee to ensure there was no overlap and that it was “crystal clear” about when the law could be applied.

“I take the importance of protecting our freedom of speech very seriously,” Boylan said. “I believe that we have a responsibility as elected leaders of this community to stand up against threatening speech – threatening speech. We all must tolerate hate speech as an individual right, but not when it specifically endangers other citizens.”

But despite the changes to the bill and despite dozens of citizens who showed up at the government meeting and called on city leaders to approve the law, it was not passed.

Nick Howland, council member without portfolio and one of the 12 who voted against the bill, stood to congratulate the bill's co-sponsors for driving a discussion from which he said he had learned something.

“That has led to a conversation in the community about race, equity and justice over the last few months. And I think we learn from having conversations like that in the community,” Howland said. “What I learned was most compelling – and I think City Council [Rahman] Johnson, who brought this up – was the story of Johnnie Mae Chapel. I researched the history of that story. I went to the place where she was shot.”

He said he noticed that there was a road marking and a small sign on the new Kings Road that read, “Drive Safely in Honor of Johnnie Mae Chappel.”

“But there is nothing that history tells us,” he said. “Nothing we can learn from.”

He said he is in the process of drafting legislation to erect a historical marker there to tell that story.

“Something we can all learn from,” he said.