JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Nathaniel Glover Jr. was leaving his dish-washing job alone on Aug. 27, 1960, when the then-17-year-old walked out into the middle of Ax Handle Saturday in Hemming Park. I had never been that frightened in all my life.Glover would become a pillar of strength and courage, but said he owes it to that moment of fear. He said he still vividly remembers the faces of the men who surrounded him with their ax handles, bats and clubs. Maybe it had to happen to me.Despite what his friends told him, Glover became Floridas first African American sheriff elected since the Reconstruction era. Nat Glover was the sheriff of Jacksonville from 1995 to 2003.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The descendants of the man who donated a Confederate statue to a downtown park that later took on his name told News4Jax they are looking into taking legal action to attempt to block changing the name of Hemming Park. In the background, Ben Frazier of Northside Coalition walked around the park remembering coming to the park with his mother when he was 10 years of while the park was still segregated. (One) side of the park was the colored peoples side ... and to the east was the white peoples side. In the confines of this park, there were white and colored water fountains, white and colored restrooms, Frazier said. After all of the fights, after all of the protests, was Frazier surprised to see the changes?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Members of the Jacksonville City Council are scheduled Tuesday evening to discuss renaming five public parks amid the debate over giving a new name to Hemming Park. A Confederate memorial once stood in the park, which is named after Civil War veteran Charles Hemming, who donated the memorial to the state of Florida in 1898. Recently, Councilman Danny Becton proposed an alternative name -- Veterans Memorial Park. It was definitely a sneak attack by a fellow council member, Dennis told News4Jax after it was filed. Now, Dennis has filed additional legislation, suggesting renaming five other Jacksonville parks to honor veterans.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A Jacksonville City Council member has filed legislation, proposing the renaming of five city parks in honor of veterans. Councilman Garrett Dennis filed the proposal amid an ongoing feud over renaming Hemming Park. Dennis is upset after a move by fellow Councilman Danny Becton, who -- with the backing of some veterans groups -- proposed renaming the park Veterans Memorial Park. The suggestion to rename it Veterans Memorial Park threw a wrench into the whole renaming plan, and some council members are reluctant to vote against the two ideas. Dennis latest proposal would change the names of five parks, including Ed Austin Regional Park, Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park, William F. Sheffield Regional Park and a portion of the former Jacksonville Landing property.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A plan to change the name of a downtown park is causing a rift within the Jacksonville City Council, but a compromise is in the works. It centers around Hemming Park, which is currently named after Civil War veteran Charles Hemming, who donated a Confederate memorial to the state in 1898. “It was definitely a sneak attack by a fellow council member,” Dennis said, noting that legislation to rename Hemming Park after Johnson has been in the works for several weeks. Still those two alone won’t decide the future of the park as it would take 10 votes from City Council to rename it. In my opinion, there should be no agreement, settlement or compromise regarding the proposed name change to James Weldon Johnson park.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The process for the Jacksonville City Council to consider changing the names of two city parks continued Tuesday. One would change the name of Confederate Park to Springfield Park. The other bill would change the name of Hemming Park, which is in front of City Hall, to James Weldon Johnson Park. The proposal came a week after a Confederate monument was removed from Hemming Park, the downtown city plaza framed on two sides by City Hall and the federal courthouse. The park is currently named after Civil War veteran Charles Hemming, who donated the Confederate memorial to the state of Florida in 1898.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Now that the Republican National Convention has been pulled out of Jacksonville, some activists say it gives Mayor Lenny Curry time to focus on removing Confederate monuments from the city. On Friday, a group protested in front of City Hall urging the mayor to focus on a promise to remove the monuments. Its been over a month since the city removed a Confederate monument from Hemming Park. The city said it doesnt know when the Confederate monuments will come down but said that its working on a schedule with the Parks and Recreation Department. News4Jax has also been following the removal of the Confederate monument in St. Augustine.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. It was nearly a month ago that Mayor Lenny Curry ordered the Confederate statue in Hemming Park to come down in the middle of the night. News4Jax has been checking, and on Friday we found that the statue at Confederate Park in downtown Jacksonville is now covered in a tarp. The sign for the Springfield park was also taken down. There is an effort by the City Council to rename Confederate Park to Springfield Park. The marker has been removed from the gravesites for Confederate soldiers but a bandstand still remains.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A member of the Hemming family is speaking out after Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis filed legislation to change the name of Hemming Park. On Tuesday night, the legislation was introduced to the Jacksonville City Council. The Jacksonville City Council changed the name of the park from St. James Park to Hemming Park in 1899 after his donation. We have gone down there for the past 90 years with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, said Elwood Hemming, the great-great-great-nephew of Charles Hemming. We have all of the original paperwork, Elwood Hemming said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The legacy of Jacksonville native James Weldon Johnson is getting national attention today on Juneteenth, but one council member wants to make the name a permanent fixture in the River City. Councilman Garret Dennis is working to rename Hemming Park, James Weldon Johnson park. The resolution came about after the city of Jacksonville removed a Confederate statue gifted to the state of Florida by Jacksonville civil war veteran Charles Hemming. The homepage of Google today commemorates the 155th anniversary of June 19 -- largely celebrated as the end of slavery in the US -- with a video Google Doodle. A blend of the words June and nineteenth, Juneteenth is the oldest known US celebration of the end of slavery.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville City Council member has introduced legislation that aims to change the name of Hemming Park. “If you think about it, James Weldon Johnson is the most famous person that was ever born and raised here in Jacksonville. No matter where you go, everyone knows James Weldon Johnson,” Dennis said. City Council changed the name of the park from St. James Park to Hemming Park after his donation in 1899. Days after the removal of Confederate statute in Jacksonville’s Hemming Park, a woman came forward and shared that her great-great-grandfather was a slave owned by Charles Hemming’s family.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Northside Coalition of Jacksonville is planning an event to celebrate the removal of a Confederate statue in a downtown Jacksonville park. Community members are asked to arrive at Hemming Park at 7:30 a.m.City workers removed the monument in Hemming Park under the cover of darkness in the early hours or Tuesday morning. Activist and president of Northside Coalition of Jacksonville Ben Fraizer said all confederate monuments, street and school names in Jacksonville should be removed and renamed. Hemming Park was named for civil war veteran Charles Hemming in 1899, the year after he donated the monument. Its really about Confederate heritage and there is a definitive difference between the two.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A woman who was passionately against the removal of the Confederate monument from Hemming Park voiced her opinion Tuesday, saying that no matter what side the soldiers were on, the statue represented dead Americans. And if you dont care about the dead, theyre not going to have respect for the living, she said. RELATED | Confederate statue removed from park overnight; others in Jacksonville also coming downAn African American woman heard her rant and stepped over to engage her in a conversation. Its OK, the second woman said. We cant get it done fighting against each other, the second woman said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Taco lovers, rejoice! Get ready, because "Jax Taco Fest 2019" is officially a thing! The event, held on Saturday, August 17, from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. at Hemming Park, is FREE and will feature more than 50 varieties of tacos! There will also be a tequila expo, taco contest, live music, beer bar and awards for best tacos. Event: Hemming Park - 135 W. Monroe StreetCopyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.