JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I’ve known Ben Frazier for years, as an activist, a former broadcast journalist and — I have to say — as a friend. I have learned a lot from Ben about community involvement and life itself.
Now, Frazier is gone.
The president of the Northside Coalition died Saturday night after a nine-month battle with cancer, one day after celebrating his birthday. He was 73.
Anyone that met him and heard him talk knows Frazier’s voice demanded attention. His actions were bold, his arrests a matter of protest.
When I interviewed him on May 10, the last time we spoke in person, we were talking about a redistricting court case he and others had just won. At the time, I knew Ben was not doing well and we talked about his life.
Here are a couple of short responses, outtakes from an interview, that let you know where he stood, some troubles in the past and his belief in God: “...Make it in life and because of their will to survive, obviously on these very streets. I’ve slept in boxes. Short pants and t-shirts, unbathed. And I’m not saying that to brag, I’m just being honest,” Ben said. “Because if you don’t believe, how could that be? I mean, I am not broke, I make a little bit of money. How could you not understand how it has brought me from and not recognize that I’ve been called by God to do this? You would be blind...I didn’t do this on my own.”
And Ben did a lot for his causes.
These are just some examples: He was arrested Jan. 4 following a confrontation with members of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ staff prior to a news conference in Jacksonville. Frazier arrived at the news conference, where he and other activists planned to confront the governor on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and other issues. Frazier was confronted and refused to budge when asked repeatedly to leave. Frazier was removed from the building in handcuffs and arrested on the misdemeanor trespassing charge that was later dropped.
Last December, he was arrested again at a Jacksonville City Council meeting while demanding Confederate monuments come down. I was there and talked to him just as he was released from jail, before those charges were dropped.
“Ben, you’ve made this your issue, the Northside Coalition, to hold [Mayor] Lenny Curry to this promise that he was going to get rid of these. You even went to jail as a result of this. Do you think it’s going to happen?” I asked.
“Yes,” He said. “I think that what we’re seeing is momentum gaining among average people, young and old, Black and white. There’s a general feeling that Jacksonville is waiting to get this issue behind it. Time to move forward, for the city council to move with great resolve, stop with its political cowardice and move on with political courage, guts and gumption.”
Guts and gumption are something Frazier was never short of.
I also remember a time last year when Frazier and others were banging on the mayor’s door demanding to be let in. That protest brought major security changes to City Hall and has made it harder for me to do my job, something I have talked and joked about with him numerous times.
Other friends and loved ones who knew Ben will gather Tuesday to honor his memory during a candlelight vigil at James Weldon Johnson Park at 4 p.m.