Calls for removal of Confederate faces off Stone Mountain

[struggle4progress]

Greg Bluestein
August 15, 2017

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams called for the removal of the giant carving that depicts three Confederate war leaders on the face of state-owned Stone Mountain, saying it “remains a blight on our state and should be removed.”

“We must never celebrate those who defended slavery and tried to destroy the union,” Abrams said in a series of tweets posted early Tuesday, a response to the deadly violence sparked by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Va.

Removing the faces of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson would take a monster of a sandblaster and require a change in state law. The Georgia code has a clear mandate for the memorial, saying it should be “preserved and protected for all time as a tribute to the bravery and heroism of the citizens of this state who suffered and died in their cause.”

Abrams faces state Rep. Stacey Evans in next year’s Democratic primary, and the race has quickly turned testy. She has faced criticism for refusing to rebuke protesters who chanted “support black women” at Evans at a progressive conference over the weekend ...

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/08/15/abrams-calls-for-removal-of-confederate-faces-off-stone-mountain/

[hlthe2b]

1. That will be quite the fight... n/t

But, since the park was sold to a private company (not sure if the sale included all control over the granite mountain or just the park) whose decision is it?

[MineralMan]

2. I'm afraid that removing that defacement of

that amazing mountain of rock would further deface it. I doubt that will happen, frankly.

[struggle4progress]

3. Here is my favorite proposal for an update:

[Cracklin Charlie]

6. Lovely place.

But I got a real bad vibe there.

Couldn't wait to get away.

[MineralMan]

8. It's an amazing geological feature.

Sadly, it was defaced with that bas relief sculpture. There's no way to remove it that wouldn't cause even more damage.

As my late grandmother said, once, of carvings made on a sandstone bluff in Arizona, "Fool's names and fool's faces always appear in public places."

They defaced a natural phenomenon with images of people who fought a war to keep slavery alive. How sad a statement that is. It should be removed, but the beauty of that massive and unique geological feature has been marred forever.

[mopinko]

4. on this one maybe just some honest signage.

like "they fought bravely to keep others enslaved"
and "birthplace of the kkk, america's home grown terrorists"
(i think that is right)

[HAB911]

5. This!

Much more likely to happen with enough pressure

[DesertRat]

9. I like that! nt

[Baitball Blogger]

7. I was there for several Fourth of July Celebrations.

There is a point when the light show reflected against the stone brings the figures to life and they began to march. Well, there's a faction in the crowd that always goes nuts at that point. I think they view it as "The South will rise again."