Tell CEO Bill Stephens and Governor Kemp to Cancel Confederate Event with Hate Group Keynote Speaker at Public Stone Mountain Park
The Stone Mountain Action Coalition (SMAC) calls on the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) to rescind the permit granted to the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) for its Confederate Memorial Day event scheduled for Saturday, April 29th. The true nature of the event is revealed by the keynote speaker, John Weaver, pastor of Freedom Baptist Ministries in Fitzgerald, Ga., and a leading member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, who according to the Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate group that opposes interracial marriage and has described black people as a “retrograde species of humanity.” The SPLC also notes that, “he is a religious mainstay of the racist neo-Confederate movement and has recently become a leading proponent of training Christians for armed battle.”
Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) CEO Bill Stephens and Governor Kemp have the authority and responsibility to cancel this offensive and dangerous event in our public park.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
EMAIL the Bill Stephens, Governor Kemp and the Park Stakeholders (sample email and addresses below)
CALL the Park: 770-498-5611 (SMMA) / 770-498-5679 (Director of Operations) / 770-498-5675 (Public Safety Non-Emergency) /
SHARE the action alert and these posts on social media: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
SEND the press release and action alert to other concerned citizens, organizations and community groups
ATTEND a peaceful demonstration on April 29 - meet at 10 a.m. at the gazebo in Stone Mountain Village
PARTICIPATE in a Teach-In at Community Books of Stone Mountain to learn why Stone Mountain is a mecca for white supremacists and brainstorm what we can do about it
REPORT any hate group activity surrounding this event to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Email CEO Bill Stephens, Gov. Kemp and Park Stakeholders
Send your email to: b.stephens@stonemountainpark.org; mosley5544@bellsouth.net; d.studdard@stonemountainpark.org; d.blihovde@stonemountainpark.org; rsmith@smithliss.com; jeff.cown@dnr.ga.gov; CCollier@Ely-Corp.com; mark.williams@gadnr.org; csanders@eastmetrocid.com; cmeadows@nrahq.org; Erica.Rocker-wills@claytoncountyga.gov; Jeff@NorthwestGeorgia.us; Brian.Kemp@georgia.gov; Trey.Kilpatrick@georgia.gov; andrew.isenhour@georgia.gov; mdombrowski@thriveattractions.com; mgeorge@chrco.com; mmetcalf@chrco.com
Sample email message: I am contacting Bill Stephens to request that the Confederate Memorial Day event on April 29th be canceled. It is neither appropriate nor safe for park visitors, employees, and members of the surrounding community. A park that openly welcomes and attracts groups that celebrate Confederate “Lost Cause” ideologies and collaborate with reactionary, white nationalist and neo-Nazis, is not a taxpayer-supported park that prioritizes public safety. The event’s keynote speaker, John Weaver, is a leading member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, who according to the Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate group that opposes interracial marriage and has described black people as a “retrograde species of humanity” and is a “religious mainstay of the racist neo-Confederate movement and has recently become a leading proponent of training Christians for armed battle.” I remind you that Stone Mountain Park’s “Lost Cause” shrine glamorizing the Confederacy has no historical connection to the Civil War is a clear and dangerous threat to our American democracy. Unlike real historical sites, Stone Mountain is not host to a battlefield or historic cemetery, but rather is directly tied to the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, the Jim Crow Era, and mass resistance, and opposition to desegregation and the Civil Rights movement. The decision to approve a Confederate Memorial Day celebration in light of your commitment to tell the truth about the Park’s history, is hypocritical and communicates to the people of Georgia that your values lie with the Park’s problematic past, NOT its bright future. Please do what’s right and cancel this event. Bill Stephens has the authority to revoke this event’s permit and knows exactly who to contact at the Governor’s Office for approval. Failure to act or make a public statement denouncing this hateful event will make clear his leadership as CEO has only further empowered hateful and divisive groups that continue to worship this park’s ugly past.
WHY THIS EVENT NEEDS CANCELED
In 2022, the SCV hosted this event and featured a keynote address from Martin O’Toole, SCV’s spokesperson and President and Chairman of the white nationalist group, Charles Martel Society. Multiple self-identified white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups encouraged their membership and network to attend this event which the SMMA was made aware of. In 2021 the SMMA rejected the SCV’s application for a permit for the Confederate Memorial event citing the possibility of, “a clear and present danger to public health or safety.” That has not changed. If anything, the situation has gotten worse in the intervening years. As Stone Mountain Park CEO Bill Stephens has noted, the Park “does not have adequate resources to protect the event’s participants, employees, and guests.”
Several months after the event was canceled in 2021, a data leak revealed that some SCV members were active participants of violent white supremacy groups, including some who were involved in the deadly Unite the Right riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. Stone Mountain Park is no stranger to these white supremacist groups and the SMMA is well aware of the threat to public safety that they pose. We saw this play out during a white nationalist rally that took place in Stone Mountain Village in August 2020, when the Park rightfully chose to close its gates and called in the Georgia National Guard because of the continued threat of violence to the public and surrounding community. Not only is the SMMA board aware of the SCV, its newly appointed member, Jeff Mullis, a former state senator and alleged SCV member, worked directly with the group in drafting and passing a Georgia bill that protects Confederate monuments.
It important to note that after last year’s net loss of $8,588,217 and taking nearly $1,000,000 in Georgia taxpayer dollars to repair its crumbling infrastructure, now more than ever Stone Mountain Park should not hold this event as it will disrupt day-to-day operations, create bad publicity and add excessive costs to deal with public security needs that occur when groups like the SCV hold provocative public events.
The SCV event being scheduled for Saturday, April 29th, will take place inside of Stone Mountain Park, a public park that is supported by Georgia taxpayers. Extra police and military presence could also wind up being billed to taxpayers. Canceling the planned Confederate Memorial Day ceremony is well within the power of the SMMA board and Park management and, as noted above, has been done before.
