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The Champion, Thursday, July 2 - 8, 2015
EDITORIAL
Page 4A
What about the confederate memorial carving on Stone Mountain?
The killing of nine
Blacks in a historic Black
church allegedly by a young
White supremacist who
loves the Confederate flag
has sparked backlash against
the flag being on state gov
ernment properties.
Days after Dylann Roof
was arrested for the shoot
ing deaths at Emanuel Af
rican Methodist Episcopal
Church in Charleston, S.C.
on June 17, photos of the
alleged murderer began sur
facing, some displaying him
holding the Confederate
flag. For decades, the flag
has been for many a symbol
of hate against Blacks.
The flag was a battle em
blem used by the Confeder
ate States of America—11
Southern states that seceded
from the United States be
cause they wanted slavery
to remain. The Civil War
started because of the dis
agreement on slavery.
The Ku Klux Klan
proudly flies the Confeder
ate flag while spewing hate
toward people of color. The
flag has a history of hate
behind it, yet for years,
state government officials
thought it OK to fly this flag
on state properties, or have
state flags that are similar to
the Confederate battle flag.
The alleged motiva
tion behind the Charleston
shooting—Roof’s hatred of
Blacks—had most Ameri
cans face the often ignored
truth about the history of
racism in this country. Some
Southerners who openly
support the Confederate flag
base their support on hon
oring the “history” of the
Confederate army.
However, others be
lieve their support of the
flag reveals an inner racism
and the support of slavery,
which is why the cry for the
removal of the Confederate
flag from South Carolina’s
state capitol has grown
louder in the wake of the
shooting.
Other states have fol
lowed suit, removing the
flag from government prop
erties. It is fair to question
whether the removal of the
flag is based on saving face
politically; and in most cases
that is probably true. How
ever, in the end, whether
genuine or not, the flags are
coming down.
Some state officials are
also supporting changing
street names or removing
monuments that honor
generals of the Confeder
ate Army. Baltimore Mayor
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
is calling for the name of
a park in the city to be
changed. The park is named
after Robert E. Lee, a gener
al in the Confederate Army.
In Virginia, a city coun
cilman wants to remove a
Confederate monument
in downtown Portsmouth;
and in Georgia, former Gov.
Roy Barnes, who led the
redesign of Georgia’s state
flag, said Georgia should no
longer celebrate Confederate
Heritage Month or Confed
erate Memorial Day.
With so many politi
cians considering ways to
distance their states from
their Confederate legacy, it
is hard to ignore the large
Confederate Memorial
Carving on Stone Mountain.
The carving depicts Presi
dent of the Confederacy Jef
ferson Davis and Generals
Robert E. Lee and Thomas
J. “Stonewall” Jackson-
Confederate “heroes” of
the Civil War, according
to Stone Mountain Park’s
website. Laser shows are
done in front of the carving,
including a large produc
tion that takes place on the
Fourth of July, a holiday that
celebrates the United States
of America, the nation the
Confederate “heroes” fought
against in the Civil War.
Streets surrounding the
park are named after the
these Confederate “heroes”
as well.
It will be interesting
to see if the carving and
other monuments and street
names honoring those of the
Confederate Army will be
addressed by Georgia legis
lators. If Georgia politicians
are serious about distancing
the state from the celebra
tion of its ugly history, then
the carving should be the
first to come down.
ifczs
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