Resolution to Reclaim OUR Park
Sign on to support changes to the country’s largest and state-sponsored Confederate memorial, Stone Mountain Park
Our country is facing a national reckoning and historic multi-racial movement. It’s time to tell the full and true history of the Confederacy and reject the Lost Cause campaign perpetuating white supremacy, terror and violence. Across the nation, Confederate monuments in communities and on public property are being removed, companies are prohibiting the sale of products with Confederate symbols, and our own United States military has even banned Confederate flags. In Georgia alone, 14 Confederate monuments have been removed, 5 of those in 2020. Our society now understands that memorializing the Confederacy and promoting myths of the Lost Cause only serve to further divide us and, in the case of Stone Mountain Park (the “Park”), come at a great cost to Georgia taxpayers.
This resolution does not seek to erase history -- it seeks to reclaim our public park from the Confederate guided Stone Mountain Memorial Association, restore peace and safety for visitors and the community, and reimagine a more inclusive Park could be for ALL.
We call upon Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) to:
Hold all public monthly board meetings;
Initiate a community engagement process to allow the public to be heard and ensure transparency with any proposed changes to the Park;
Take immediate action to remove Confederate flags and rename Park streets, buildings and features that honor Confederate and Ku Klux Klan figures;
Issue an anti-racism statement to publicly deter all future hate groups from using the Park; and
Support the Stone Mountain Park Unity Bill (HB 277) to remove restrictive laws that mandate the Park serve as a Confederate memorial and that it sell Confederate memorabilia.
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association can and must act NOW.
Sign the Resolution & Support the Call for Change!
Resolution to Reclaim OUR Park
Our country is facing a national reckoning and historic multi-racial movement. It’s time to tell the full and true history of the Confederacy and reject the Lost Cause campaign perpetuating white supremacy, terror and violence. Across the nation, Confederate monuments in communities and on public property are being removed, companies are prohibiting the sale of products with Confederate symbols, and our own United States military has even banned Confederate flags. In Georgia alone, 14 Confederate monuments have been removed, 5 of those in 2020. Our society now understands that memorializing the Confederacy and promoting myths of the Lost Cause only serve to further divide us and, in the case of Stone Mountain Park (the “Park”), come at a great cost to Georgia taxpayers.
This resolution does not seek to erase history -- it seeks to reclaim our public park from the Confederate guided Stone Mountain Memorial Association, restore peace and safety for visitors and the community, and reimagine a more inclusive Park could be for ALL.
Racism & Division
WHEREAS, Stone Mountain Park has historically been and continues to serve as a place that promotes racial division and attracts hate groups. Furthermore, it is undisputed that:
In 1914, during the height of the Jim Crow Era, Helen Plane, a leader in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, proposed that a bust of Robert E. Lee be carved into Stone Mountain;
The United Daughters of the Confederacy requested that the carving also include Ku Klux Klan figures;
The Ku Klux Klan was restarted at the Park in 1915 and it continues to be a sacred place for them and other hate groups;
The mountain’s owner at the time, Samuel Venable, granted the Ku Klux Klan rights to hold their meetings there in perpetuity;
Work on the carving was intermittent for nearly 40 years and in 1958 the State of Georgia purchased the mountain and legally required it to serve as a Confederate memorial in defiance of the civil rights movement and Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision;
The Park and nine-story carving (larger than Mount Rushmore) is the largest Confederate memorial in the world, though no battles were actually fought there and the carving was completed in 1972;
The Park used prison labor for four decades;
There are more than 10 Park streets and features named after Confederate and Ku Klux Klan figures;
The Park is required by law to sell Confederate memorabilia (Walmart, Amazon, and eBay have banned the sale of such items);
The Park flies Confederate battle flags over the most popular trail (these flags are banned by the United States Military and NASCAR); and
These facts tell the story of a public space that serves as much more than a park of historic significance; it is a state-funded source of division that has deliberately and consistently leaned in to its reputation as a monument to Southern obstinance free of the kind of reflective view of history that is increasingly common at other Southern sites.
Community Impact
WHEREAS, Stone Mountain Park’s Confederate symbols are a public nuisance and a threat to public safety with hate groups they attract and as a flashpoint for armed protests and violence in the Park and surrounding community. Furthermore, it is undisputed that:
The DeKalb County and Metro Atlanta population are 54.8% and 34.3% Black or African Americans respectively;
The Park has closed numerous times in recent years because of planned white supremacy protests and the clear and present danger they presented to public safety;
On July 4, 2020, nearly 200 heavily armed demonstrators with military-style weapons entered the Park to challenge white supremacy groups;
On August 15, 2020 the Park closed and the Georgia National Guard had to be deployed to protect the Park from a planned white supremacy rally;
The Park’s August 15 closure diverted the heavily-armed hate group to Stone Mountain Village forcing businesses to close and the city to issue a public notice warning its residents of possible violence;
The Park noted in its 2019 Strategic Plan that its goal of providing public safety services is inhibited by “threat of terrorism, civil disturbance, or the major public safety incidents”;
In 2020, the FBI reported that white extremists represent the most persistent and lethal threat to homeland security; and
The Park’s Confederate symbols and attraction to hate groups are a public nuisance and threat to public safety.
Economic Impact
WHEREAS, Stone Mountain Park’s failure to address its hateful history and symbols has come at a high cost to the Park, the local economy, and Georgia taxpayers. Furthermore, it is undisputed that:
Georgia taxpayer funds were used to purchase the mountain and make it a Confederate memorial, and Georgia taxpayers continue to pay for the additional local law enforcement and National Guard protection resulting from armed protests;
In 2020 the Park’s management company decided to terminate its contract and end all operations in 2022 citing, “Our guests and team members have recently shared that Stone Mountain Park feels increasingly less family-friendly, welcoming, and enjoyable, as the park is frequently the site of protests and division.”
Local businesses in Stone Mountain Village continue to be disrupted and often shut down with frequent armed protests and counter-protests;
The Park continues to lose revenue from individuals, corporate partners and funders that avoid it due to its hateful history and racial division;
The net loss after depreciation for 2021 is budgeted at $4,777,638;
The Park considered a proposal in 2020 to spend $358,000 - $563,000 to clean the Confederate carving;
The NCAA banned championship events from being played in states where Confederate symbols have a prominent presence; and
In 2020, brands including Home Depot and Overstock.com have removed artwork previously sold featuring the Park’s Confederate carving and symbols.
Outdoors Equity & Access
WHEREAS, Stone Mountain Park cannot provide real public access until it addresses its Confederate symbols and the hate groups they attract. Furthermore, it is undisputed that:
People of color are already disproportionately underrepresented in the outdoors and the Park’s Confederate symbols make many feel unwelcome and even unsafe given the hate groups it attracts;
Accessible public parks help reduce the racial disparities in health indicators by providing outdoor recreational opportunities and encouraging physical activity and exercise; and
In addition to physical health, research suggests that the mere contact with nature also improves psychological health and wellbeing, especially among low-income families; and
Low-income and working-class communities are often denied close-to-home nature access, which is why their exposure to nature can be particularly effective.
Ethics & Accountability
WHEREAS, Stone Mountain Park has not adhered to the high ethical and accountability standards incumbent upon all publicly paid for and managed spaces the people of Georgia deserve and the law demands. Furthermore, it is undisputed that:
In 1958 in defiance to the civil rights movement, the outspoken segregationist and Georgia Governor Marvin Griffin purchased the mountain for $1.5 million using taxpayer funds;
By 1970 the state had spent $24 million ($126+ million in 2020 dollars) using public, taxpayer money and required it by law to serve as a Confederate memorial;
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) has also been using approximately $16 million from Georgia General Obligation Bonds (which they don’t have to repay) to renovate and maintain the Park’s hotel and campgrounds.
Taxpayer funds continue to be used for increased law enforcement and the Georgia National Guard to protect the Confederate monuments at the Park;
The SMMA plans to apply for $1,000,000 in direct public funding from the Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission;
The public was only notified of its management company’s decision to pull out citing protests and racial division after an investigative report;
At their August 2020 public meeting, SMMA spent less than 5 minutes discussing the August 2020 planned white supremacy rally that forced the Park to close and the National Guard to be deployed;
The SMMA cancelled or failed to schedule four of the last seven monthly public meetings since the August 2020 white supremacy rally that forced the Park to close and required the National Guard to be deployed and channeled violence and disruption to nearby communities;
The SMMA has not yet published a public anti-racist statement condemning hate groups that continue to view and use the Park as a sacred place and apply for permits;
On November 16, 2020, the SMMA charged the CEO to review proposals for a “21st century perspective on Stone Mountain Park” without any details regarding who would serve on the committee, the evaluation criteria of proposals, and how community input would be incorporated; and
Individuals must pay the Park’s $20 entrance fee to attend the SMMA’s public meetings and no accommodations have been made to attend virtually or by phone.
RESOLVED, we call upon Stone Mountain Memorial Association to:
Hold all public monthly board meetings;
Initiate a community engagement process to allow the public to be heard and ensure transparency with any proposed changes to the Park;
Take immediate action to remove Confederate flags and rename Park streets, buildings and features that honor Confederate and Ku Klux Klan figures;
Issue an anti-racism statement to publicly deter all future hate groups from using the Park; and
Support the Stone Mountain Park Unity Bill (HB 277) to remove restrictive laws that mandate the Park serve as a Confederate memorial and that it sell Confederate memorabilia.