A group of about 20 people turned out yesterday morning for the first session of the speakers’ corner in downtown Jacksonville.
The idea came from retired Jacksonville High School English teacher Pat Kennedy.
Kennedy says people need to feel the freedom and know they have the right to speak out.
Kennedy spoke of past city leaders who would gather near the square and talk about the issues of the day over coffee in his younger years.
Going back to pre-Civil War days, he said Abraham Lincoln gave a speech near the square about inventions. Kennedy said the attendance was sparse, but it was still a chance to hear from one of the leaders of the day.
Kennedy also talked about the time vice president Lyndon Baines Johnson came to speak at MacMurray College, where his niece attended school.
The former teacher said it pains him to see the current administration try to gut many of the programs that Johnson was able to get through Congress.
Those programs included the Civil Rights Act, which Kennedy said the current administration was trying to gut.
Kennedy will continue his visit to the northeast corner of the square every first Tuesday of the month for the speakers corner at 10 AM, after the weather warning siren sounds.
Jacksonville mayor Andy Ezard was among those attending the first time event yesterday morning.