Latest news with #StoneMountainPark
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Confederacy group sues Georgia park for planning an exhibit on slavery and segregation
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia chapter of a Confederacy group filed lawsuits this week against a state park with the largest Confederate monument in the country, arguing officials broke state law by planning an exhibit on ties to slavery, segregation and white supremacy. Stone Mountain's massive carving depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson on horseback. Critics who have long pushed for changes say the monument enshrines the 'Lost Cause' mythology that romanticizes the Confederate cause as a state's rights struggle, but state law protects the carving from any changes. After police brutality spurred nationwide reckonings on racial inequality and the removal of dozens of Confederate monuments in 2020, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which oversees Stone Mountain Park, voted in 2021 to relocate Confederate flags and build a 'truth-telling' exhibit to reflect the site's role in the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan, along with the carving's segregationist roots. The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans also alleges in court documents filed Tuesday that the board's decision to relocate Confederate flags from a walking trail violates Georgia law. 'When they come after the history and attempt to change everything to the present political structure, that's against the law,' said Martin O'Toole, the chapter's spokesperson. Stone Mountain Park markets itself as a family theme park and is a popular hiking spot east of Atlanta. Completed in 1972, the monument on the mountain's northern space is 190 feet (58 meters) across and 90 feet (27 meters) tall. The United Daughters of the Confederacy hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later carved Mount Rushmore, to craft the carving in 1915. That same year, the film 'Birth of a Nation' celebrated the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan, which marked its comeback with a cross burning on top of Stone Mountain on Thanksgiving night in 1915. One of the 10 parts of the planned exhibit would expound on the Ku Klux's Klan reemergence and the movie's influence on the mountain's monument. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association hired Birmingham-based Warner Museums, which specializes in civil rights installations, to design the exhibit in 2022. "The interpretive themes developed for Stone Mountain will explore how the collective memory created by Southerners in response to the real and imagined threats to the very foundation of Southern society, the institution of slavery, by westward expansion, a destructive war, and eventual military defeat, was fertile ground for the development of the Lost Cause movement amidst the social and economic disruptions that followed," the exhibit proposal says. Other parts of the exhibit would address how the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans perpetuated the 'Lost Cause' ideology through support for monuments, education programs and racial segregation laws across the South. It would also tell stories of a small Black community that lived near the mountain after the war. Georgia's General Assembly allocated $11 million in 2023 to pay for the exhibit and renovate the park's Memorial Hall. The exhibit is not open yet. A spokesperson for the park did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The park's board in 2021 also voted to change its logo from an image of the Confederate carveout to a lake inside the park. Sons of the Confederate Veterans members have defended the carvings as honoring Confederate soldiers. Changes to the park would 'radically revise' the park's setup, 'completely changing the emphasis of the Park and its purpose as defined by the law of the State of Georgia,' the organization said in court documents. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.
Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Confederacy group sues Georgia park for planning an exhibit on slavery and segregation
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Georgia chapter of a Confederacy group filed a lawsuit this week against a state park with the largest Confederate monument in the country, arguing officials broke state law by planning an exhibit on ties to slavery, segregation and white supremacy. Stone Mountain's massive carving depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson on horseback. Critics who have long pushed for changes say the monument enshrines the 'Lost Cause' mythology that romanticizes the Confederate cause as a state's rights struggle, but state law protects the carving from any changes. After police brutality spurred nationwide reckonings on racial inequality and the removal of dozens of Confederate monuments in 2020, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which oversees Stone Mountain Park, voted in 2021 to relocate Confederate flags and build a 'truth-telling' exhibit to reflect the site's role in the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan, along with the carving's segregationist roots. The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans also alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the board's decision to relocate Confederate flags from a walking trail violates Georgia law. 'When they come after the history and attempt to change everything to the present political structure, that's against the law,' said Martin O'Toole, the chapter's spokesperson. Stone Mountain Park markets itself as a family theme park and is a popular hiking spot east of Atlanta. Completed in 1972, the monument on the mountain's northern space is 190 feet (58 meters) across and 90 feet (27 meters) tall. The United Daughters of the Confederacy hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later carved Mount Rushmore , to craft the carving in 1915. That same year, the film 'Birth of a Nation' celebrated the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan, which marked its comeback with a cross burning on top of Stone Mountain on Thanksgiving night in 1915. One of the 10 parts of the planned exhibit would expound on the Ku Klux's Klan reemergence and the movie's influence on the mountain's monument. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association hired Birmingham-based Warner Museums, which specializes in civil rights installations, to design the exhibit in 2022. 'The interpretive themes developed for Stone Mountain will explore how the collective memory created by Southerners in response to the real and imagined threats to the very foundation of Southern society, the institution of slavery, by westward expansion, a destructive war, and eventual military defeat, was fertile ground for the development of the Lost Cause movement amidst the social and economic disruptions that followed,' the exhibit proposal says. Other parts of the exhibit would address how the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans perpetuated the 'Lost Cause' ideology through support for monuments, education programs and racial segregation laws across the South. It would also tell stories of a small Black community that lived near the mountain after the war. Georgia's General Assembly allocated $11 million in 2023 to pay for the exhibit and renovate the park's Memorial Hall. The exhibit is not open yet. A spokesperson for the park did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The park's board in 2021 also voted to change its logo from an image of the Confederate carveout to a lake inside the park. Sons of the Confederate Veterans members have defended the carvings as honoring Confederate soldiers. Changes to the park would 'radically revise' the park's setup, 'completely changing the emphasis of the Park and its purpose as defined by the law of the State of Georgia,' the lawsuit says. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon .
Associated Press
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Confederacy group sues Georgia park for planning an exhibit on slavery and segregation
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia chapter of a Confederacy group filed a lawsuit this week against a state park with the largest Confederate monument in the country, arguing officials broke state law by planning an exhibit on ties to slavery, segregation and white supremacy. Stone Mountain's massive carving depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson on horseback. Critics who have long pushed for changes say the monument enshrines the 'Lost Cause' mythology that romanticizes the Confederate cause as a state's rights struggle, but state law protects the carving from any changes. After police brutality spurred nationwide reckonings on racial inequality and the removal of dozens of Confederate monuments in 2020, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which oversees Stone Mountain Park, voted in 2021 to relocate Confederate flags and build a 'truth-telling' exhibit to reflect the site's role in the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan, along with the carving's segregationist roots. The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans also alleges in the lawsuit filed Tuesday that the board's decision to relocate Confederate flags from a walking trail violates Georgia law. 'When they come after the history and attempt to change everything to the present political structure, that's against the law,' said Martin O'Toole, the chapter's spokesperson. Stone Mountain Park markets itself as a family theme park and is a popular hiking spot east of Atlanta. Completed in 1972, the monument on the mountain's northern space is 190 feet (58 meters) across and 90 feet (27 meters) tall. The United Daughters of the Confederacy hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later carved Mount Rushmore, to craft the carving in 1915. That same year, the film 'Birth of a Nation' celebrated the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan, which marked its comeback with a cross burning on top of Stone Mountain on Thanksgiving night in 1915. One of the 10 parts of the planned exhibit would expound on the Ku Klux's Klan reemergence and the movie's influence on the mountain's monument. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association hired Birmingham-based Warner Museums, which specializes in civil rights installations, to design the exhibit in 2022. 'The interpretive themes developed for Stone Mountain will explore how the collective memory created by Southerners in response to the real and imagined threats to the very foundation of Southern society, the institution of slavery, by westward expansion, a destructive war, and eventual military defeat, was fertile ground for the development of the Lost Cause movement amidst the social and economic disruptions that followed,' the exhibit proposal says. Other parts of the exhibit would address how the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans perpetuated the 'Lost Cause' ideology through support for monuments, education programs and racial segregation laws across the South. It would also tell stories of a small Black community that lived near the mountain after the war. Georgia's General Assembly allocated $11 million in 2023 to pay for the exhibit and renovate the park's Memorial Hall. The exhibit is not open yet. A spokesperson for the park did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The park's board in 2021 also voted to change its logo from an image of the Confederate carveout to a lake inside the park. Sons of the Confederate Veterans members have defended the carvings as honoring Confederate soldiers. The exhibit would 'radically revise' the park's setup, 'completely changing the emphasis of the Park and its purpose as defined by the law of the State of Georgia,' the lawsuit says. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Burned body found on Stone Mountain
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (WSAV) — A burned body was discovered early Saturday morning in a remote area of Stone Mountain Park. Officials say the body is that of a young man but it was so badly burned it will require further forensic review. Many park goers were in shock to hear the news of the discovery. David Farmer was visiting when he learned about it. 'It's a little scary and it's kind of somber. I've never seen anything like that. I've been here a lot never seen anything like that.' John Bankhead with the Stone Mountain Park Police also said they have not seen anything like this. 'This is a very weird situation, a very unique situation and I'm curious myself as to what might've happened.' Dekalb County received a 911 call from a hiker who made the discovery shortly after 8:15 a.m. Saturday. Hours later the burn marks remained in the area formed by a rock that hangs over the mountain. According to Bankhead, it's an area that's not widely hiked. 'I hike at out here a lot I didn't even know it existed.' It's not yet clear what or how this happened. The Dekalb County Medical Examiner's Office will do an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Dekalb Fire is conducting an arson investigation. Mike Morris was another visitor at the park when the discovery was made. 'It's unfortunate and to be so close in proximity to where everyone's kind of traversing and going back and forth. It's unfortunate that it even happened to begin with but just to hear it it's sad.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
01-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Authorities determine the cause of death of a man whose burned body was found on Stone Mountain
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The man who whose burned body was found near the top of Stone Mountain outside Atlanta died by suicide, authorities said Sunday. The body was found near the top of the mountain Saturday morning after a hiker who discovered it called 911, Stone Mountain Park Police spokesperson John Bankhead said.
