The Georgia Division of the Sons of Accomplice Veterans (SCV) is suing to dam a proposed “Fact Telling” exhibit at Stone Mountain Park, claiming it violates state legislation meant to guard Accomplice monuments. Based on Capital B Information, the lawsuit was filed final week, difficult efforts to discover the positioning’s connections to slavery, segregation, and white supremacy—calling it a direct menace to their model of Southern reminiscence.
Unusual.
The transfer comes simply because the Stone Mountain Memorial Affiliation (SMMA) pushes ahead with plans to reframe the narrative surrounding the nation’s largest Accomplice monument, the place towering carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson have loomed for the reason that early twentieth century.
A Monument Etched in White Supremacy
Capital B studies the carvings—first etched into Stone Mountain in 1915—coincide with the Ku Klux Klan’s rebirth ceremony held on the mountain’s peak that very same 12 months. The three,200-acre park, situated in East Atlanta, has lengthy been criticized for glorifying Accomplice leaders and ignoring the trauma that legacy holds for Black Georgians and past.
Regardless of its previous, the positioning is now frequented by a various crowd. From power-walking the paths to households scaling the rocky summit, the world has remodeled into an emblem of twin realities—leisure and legacy. However behind the picturesque views, tensions are resurfacing.
Georgia Allotted $11M to Inform the Full Story
In 2021, amid nationwide protests over the homicide of George Floyd, the Stone Mountain Memorial Affiliation voted to take away Accomplice flags from well-liked strolling trails and authorized plans for a brand new academic middle.
“We’ve simply taken our first step right now to the place we have to go,” the Rev. Abraham Mosley, SMMA’s first Black chairman and an appointee of Governor Brian Kemp, informed Captial B reporters.
With $11 million authorized by Georgia’s Basic Meeting in 2023, the SMMA introduced on Warner Museums to design the brand new exhibit. The proposed middle is meant to contextualize the Confederacy and dismantle the falsehoods perpetuated by the “Misplaced Trigger” motion.
Based on the proposal, the exhibit will study:
“…how the collective reminiscence created by Southerners in response to the actual and imagined threats to the very basis of Southern society, the establishment of slavery…was fertile floor for the event of the Misplaced Trigger motion.”
The Lawsuit: A Battle Over Historical past
Capital B by way of the Related Press studies the Georgia Sons of Accomplice Veterans are usually not happy. Their lawsuit cites two particular state codes handed in 2019: Georgia Code 50-3-1(b)(3), which bans the elimination, relocation, or concealing of state-owned monuments, and Georgia Code 12-3-192.1, which mandates that Stone Mountain be preserved as a tribute to the Confederacy.
This authorized pushback throws the SMMA’s plans into unsure territory, with conservatives arguing that even contextualizing the monument crosses a line.
Trump-Period Insurance policies Could Complicate Issues
Capital B notes that the Nationwide Park Service just lately launched signage with QR codes encouraging guests to report any content material which will appear “unfavourable about both previous or dwelling Individuals.” The initiative ties into former President Donald Trump’s govt order titled “Restoring Fact and Sanity to American Historical past,” which was issued by Inside Secretary Doug Burgum.
The order requires a evaluate of all public monuments and academic signage eliminated or altered since January 1, 2020—elevating questions on whether or not it may very well be weaponized to dam efforts just like the Stone Mountain “Fact Telling” exhibit. In that very same 12 months, even the modern-day Black Panther Social gathering needed to make their presence recognized at Stone Mountain in 2020 with a peaceable protest.
The Legacy Debate Isn’t Over
Whereas there’s been no official phrase on how Trump’s order will impression the SMMA’s exhibit, the lawsuit showcases that Accomplice defenders are nonetheless preventing to regulate the narrative. Within the meantime, Black communities and advocates throughout Georgia proceed pushing for public areas that replicate reality—not whitewashed nostalgia.
Stone Mountain could also be a scenic hike for some, however for others, it stays a battleground of reminiscence, identification, and justice.
