Georgia State Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) is sponsoring legislation that seeks to remove Stone Mountain Park’s 90-foot tall Confederate memorial.
This memorial, carved into the mountain, depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, according to the park’s website. Members of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association manage the park, which is state-owned.
Mitchell’s bill says members of the SMMA could continue to provide access to the park and preserve the natural areas situated within the park. But they could no longer “maintain an appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy.”
According to the Atlanta-based WABE, affiliated with National Public Radio, members of the SMMA often cite state law as the reason they can’t remove the carving.
“This bill will simply give the Memorial Association the authority to change from that policy,” WABE quoted Mitchell as saying.
The station also quoted Mitchell as saying it’s time for members of the country to stop memorializing the Confederacy. Mitchell said he sees a growing momentum for change happening among members of the Georgia General Assembly.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ they will come down, it is a matter of ‘when,’” WABE quoted Mitchell as saying.
Stone Mountain Park’s website describes the history of the Confederate memorial and its exact dimensions.
“The entire carved surface measures three-acres, larger than a football field and Mount Rushmore,” the website said.
“The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee’s elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain’s surface.”
Park officials held a dedication ceremony for the carving in 1970, and they added finishing touches in 1972, according to Stone Mountain Park’s website.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
People do not realized that President Davis adopted a black child, General Jackson formed and led a Sunday school for slaves before the war. Gen Lee inherited slaves from his father-in-law and freed all of them within 4 years. Davis was against secession, Jackson said he wants to see the shackles removed from all slaves and Lee said slavery is a political and moral evil. He also said it is an abomination to God.
Some people are not going to be satisfied until the whole mountain is removed. What next. I am sure there is more offensive things to destroy. When you get your way on one thing, it is on to next.