Jacksonville rallies against billion dollar new jail proposal
Jacksonville, FL – Around three dozen community members gathered in front of Jacksonville City Hall on Tuesday late afternoon to say no to a projected billion-dollar proposal to build a new jail and incarcerate more Jacksonville residents.
Organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee and attended by other organizations such as the newly formed Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Take Em Down Jacksonville, Jax Queer Coalition, Red Alliance for Justice, Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association, Jacksonville DSA, along with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Attendees heard chants of “No new jail” along with chants of “Money for jobs and education, not for mass incarceration.”
“We are here to say no to shady backroom deals with developers,” said Monica Gold, an organizer with the JCAC. “Conditions in the jail should be fixed now, not spending a potential billion dollars on a new jail to lock more people up while schools are being shut down!”
The current Duval County Jail is designed to host 2189 inmates but currently holds at least 2600 inmates, according to reports. Its horrible conditions are well known, with many inmates dying due to negligence and poor healthcare services.
The talk about moving the jail has been a major topic pushed by the city council and the mayor’s office the past year. The current jail is located in downtown near the Saint John’s River, a spot developer have been eyeing to build unaffordable high rise appartments.
Many have spoken out against attempts to build the jail on Jacksonville’s Northside of town, the home of a large Black community.
“Our communities are constantly told there is no resources for after-school programs, infrastructure and other social services yet the city can find a billion for a new jail? Just tells you what they think of us and our communities,” said JCAC organizer Xavier Green. “We demand a real People’s Budget, people over profit, community over cages.”
After the rally, many went inside to city council where they spoke out against a new jail proposal.
The JCAC and coalition partners have vowed to keep organizing around this issue until the proposal is stopped.