LTC 400-2015 Village of Biscayne Park Resolution w ■ o
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1915 •2015
MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 400-2015 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of t e City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: October 12, 2015
SUBJECT: VILLAGE OF BISCAYNE PARK RES c_)LUTION
Attached for your information is Resolution No. .,1 15-49, adopted by the Mayor and Commission
of Village of Biscayne Park on October 6, 2015.
A Resolution Of The Village Commission Of The Village Of Biscayne Park,
Florida, Supporting House Bill 141 And Senate Bill 310 And Calling On The
Florida Legislature To Inform The United States Congress Of Its Desire To
Place A Statue Of Environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas Or Civil Rights
Leader Mary McLeod Bethune, Or Other Appropriate Floridian In The
Congressional Collection Representing Florida And To Replace The Statue Of
Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, Currently One Of Two Statues
Representing Florida In Statuary Hall In Washington, DC; Providing For An
Effective Date.
The Village of Biscayne Park has requested that a copy of this resolution be provided to the
Miami Beach Mayor and Commissioners.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at 305.673.7411.
JLM/REG
Attachment
F:\CLER\$ALL\LILIA\LTC's-Transmittal's\Resolution 2015-49.docx
1
2
3
4 RESOLUTION NO.2015-49
5
6 A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COMMISSION OF
7 THE VILLAGE OF BISCAYNE PARK, FLORIDA,
8 SUPPORTING HOUSE BILL 141 AND SENATE BILL 310
9 AND CALLING ON THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO
10 INFORM THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS OF ITS
11 DESIRE TO PLACE A STATUE OF ENVIRONMENTALIST
12 MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS OR CIVIL RIGHTS
13 LEADER MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE, OR OTHER
14 APPROPRIATE FLORIDIAN IN THE CONGRESSIONAL
15 COLLECTION REPRESENTING FLORIDA AND TO
16 REPLACE THE STATUE OF CONFEDERATE GENERAL
17 EDMUND KIRBY SMITH, CURRENTLY ONE OF TWO
18 STATUES REPRESENTING FLORIDA IN STATUARY
19 HALL IN WASHINGTON, DC; PROVIDING FOR AN
20 EFFECTIVE DATE
21
22 WHEREAS, in 1864, in accordance with legislation sponsored by Representative Justin
23 Morrill, Congress invited each state to contribute two statues of prominent citizens for
24 permanent display in a room in the U.S. Capitol, which was renamed National Statuary Hall;
25 and
26
27 WHEREAS, in 1914, the State of Florida gave a statue of John Gorrie, considered the
28 father of air conditioning and refrigeration;to the National Statuary Hall Collection; and
29
30 WHEREAS, in 1922, the State of Florida gave a statue of Confederate General Edmund
31 Kirby to the National Statuary Hall Collection; and
32
33 WHEREAS, in 2000, an act of Congress (2 U.S.C. § 2132), permits states to provide
34 statue replacements and repossess the earlier one; and
35
36 WHEREAS, as of 2015, six states (Kansas, California, Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, and
37 Arizona)have replaced statues; an
38
39 WHEREAS, in 2015, several Florida members of Congress wrote a bipartisan letter to
40 the leaders of the Florida Legislature requesting that the statue of Confederate General Smith be
41 removed from Statuary Hall; and
42
43 WHEREAS, according to the Tallahassee Democrat the leaders of the Florida Legislature
44 expressed a willingness to replace the statue of Confederate General Smith with another
45 prominent Floridian; and
46
47 WHEREAS, Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an important environmentalist in the 20th
48 century who made improvements in Florida's quality of life; and
49
Resolution No.2015-49
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1 WHEREAS, her most influential work was the book The Everglades: River of Grass
2 (1947)", which redefined the popular conception of the Everglades as a treasured river instead
3 of a worthless swamp; and
4
5 WHEREAS, in 1933, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of
6 Freedom,the highest honor given to a civilian; and
7
8 WHEREAS,in 1987, she was named a great Floridian by the State of Florida; and
9
10 WHEREAS, Douglas was inducted into the National Wildlife Federation Hall of Fame in
11 1999; and
12
13 WHEREAS, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2000; and
14
15 WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection named its headquarters
16 in Tallahassee after her in 1980; and
17
18 WHEREAS, the Conservation Association established the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
19 Award in 1986, that honors individuals who often must go to great lengths to advocate and fight
20 for the protection of the National Park System; and
21
22 WHEREAS, she was honored with a visit from Queen Elizabeth II in 1991; and
23
24 WHEREAS, instead of gifts and celebrations on her birthday, Douglas asked that trees be
25 planted that resulted in over 100,000 planted trees across the state; and
26
27 WHEREAS, Marjory Stoneman Douglas would be the 10th woman in National Statuary
28 Hall Collection should the Florida Legislature select her as a statue replacement; and
29
30 WHEREAS, Mary McLeod Bethune was an important civil rights leader and educator in
31 the 20th century who made improvements in the quality of life in Florida; and
32
33 WHEREAS, she also served as an advisor to five of the Presidents of the United States.
34 Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her to several government positions; and
35
36 WHEREAS, she established the school that would eventually become Bethune-Cookman
37 University in Daytona Beach; and
38
39 WHEREAS, she was a recognized leader in promoting equal opportunity and helped
40 establish the National Council of Negro Women and United Negro College Fund(UNCF); and
41
42 WHEREAS, Bethune was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1935 by the National
43 Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP);and
44
45 WHEREAS, she played an important role during World War II as the assistant director of
46 the Women's Army Corps; and
47
48 WHEREAS, Mary McLeod Bethune was the only black woman to participate at the
49 founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945; and
Resolution No.2015-49
Page 2 of 4
1
2 WHEREAS, in 1973, Mary McLeod Bethune was inducted into the National Women's
3 Hall of Fame; and
4
5 WHEREAS, in 2002, she was named a great Floridian by the State of Florida; and
6
7 WHEREAS, in 1974, approximately 250,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony of
8 a statue of her in Lincoln Park in Washington D.C.; and
9
10 WHEREAS, in 1985, the US Postal Service issued a stamp in Bethune's honor; and
11
12 WHEREAS, in 1991, the International Astronomical Union named the Bethune Patera on
13 planet Venus in her honor; and
14
15 WHEREAS, in 1994, the National Park Service acquired Bethune's last residence and
16 designated it as the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site; and
17
18 WHEREAS, schools have been named in her honor in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego,
19 Dallas, Palm Beach, Florida, Moreno Valley, California, Minneapolis, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta,
20 Philadelphia, Folkston and College Park, George, New Orleans, Rochester, New York,
21 Cleveland, South Boston,Virginia, and Jacksonville,Florida; and
22
23 WHEREAS, Mary McLeod Bethune would become the first African-American in
24 National Statuary Hall should the Florida Legislature select her as a statue replacement; and
25
26 WHEREAS, the statue of Confederate General Smith has already had 93 years to
27 represent Florida and can now be moved to another appropriate location; and
28
29 WHEREAS, in 2009, Alabama swapped its statue of Confederate soldier Jabez Curry for
30 one of humanitarian Helen Keller.
31
32
33 NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COMMISSION OF THE
34 VILLAGE OF BISCAYNE PARK, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
35
36
37 Section 1. The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are true and correct and hereby
38 ratified and confirmed by the Village Commission.
39
40 Section 2. The Village Commission supports Florida House Bill 141 and Florida
41 Senate Bill 310, and the Florida Legislature should replace the statue of Confederate General
42 Edmund Kirby Smith in National Statuary Hall Collection with Marjory Stoneman Douglas or
43 Mary McLeod Bethune or another appropriate Floridian.
44
45 Section 3. The Village Clerk is hereby directed to transmit this resolution to the
46 Florida Speaker of the House, the President of the Florida Senate, the Mayor and County
47 Commissioners of Miami-Dade County, and all elected municipal offices in Miami-Dade
48 County.
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1 Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption.
2
3 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6th day of October, 2015.
4
5
6 The foregoing resolution upon being
7 put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
8 1
9 Mayor Coviello: Yes
10 David Coviello, Mayor Vice Mayor Anderson: Yes
11 Commissioner Jonas: Yes
12 Attest: Commissioner Ross: Yes
13 Commissioner Watts: Yes
14
15
17
18 Maria C. Camara,Village Clerk
19
20 Approved as to •
21
22
23
24
25 John J. -.1.9" age Attorney •'
26
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