Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 CHAMPION www.thechampionnewspaper.com PUBLISHER: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: MANAGING EDITOR: LIFESTYLE EDITOR: LEGAL AD MANAGER: PRODUCTION MANAGER: PHOTO JOURNALIST: ADVERTISING SALES: STAFF REPORTERS: Main Phone: SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADVERTISING LEGAL ADVERTISING Carolyn Jernigan Glenn Dr. Earl D. Glenn John Hewitt Andrew Cauthen Gale Horton Gay Jacquelyn Bryant Kemesha Hunt Travis Hudgons John Hewitt Ashley Oglesby Carla Parker (404) 373-7779 Fax: (404) 373-7721 Fax:(404)371-1359 Publication No. 015405 The Champion is published each Thursday by ACE III Communications, I nc., 114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur, GA 30030. Phone (404) 373-7779. Periodicals Postage Paid at U.S. Post Office, Decatur, Georgia 30030. Post master: Send address changes to The Champion, P. O. Box 1347, Decatur, Retail and coin box locations Avondale City Hall 21 N. Avondale Plaza Avondale Chamblee Civic Center Broad Street Chamblee Chamblee MARTA 5200 New Peachtree Rd. Chamblee Champion Office 114 New Street, Suite E Decatur Decatur Court Professional Bldg. 315 W. Ponce de Leon Decatur DeKalb County Courthouse McDonough St. Decatur DeKalb County Public Safety Camp Circle Decatur Kroger Food Store 2875 N. DecaturRd. Decatur Kroger Food Store 4919 Flat Shoals Prky. Decatur Kroger Food Store 2385 Wesley Chapel Rd. Decatur Kroger Food Store 6678 Covington Hwy Decatur Maloof Building 1300 Commerce Dr. Decatur Suburban Plaza Church Street Decatur Doraville Courthouse Park Ave Doraville Doraville MARTA 5936 New Peachtree Rd. Doraville Dunwoody MARTA 1111 Hammond Drive Dunwoody Kroger Food Store 2090 Dunwoody Club Drive Dunwoody Kroger Food Store 4498 Chamb-Dunwoody Rd Dunwoody Litbonia City Hall 6980 Main Street. Lithonia Pine Lake City Hall 459 Pine Lake Drive Pine Lake Kroger Food Store 1232 S. Hariston Rd. Stone Mountain Kroger Food Store 965 N. Hariston Rd. Stone Mountain Kroger Food Store 3479 Memorial Dr. Stone Mountain Stone Mountain City Hall 922 Main Street Stone Mountain Kroger Food Store 3559 Chamblee/Tucker Rd. Tucker Kroger Food Store 4357 Lawrenceville Hwy Tucker Kroger Food Store 3959 Lavista Rd. Tucker Kroger Food Store 2205 LaVista Rd. Tucker OUR VISION: To be the first choice for local news in DeKalb, Georgia's most culturally diverse county. To be the unbiased, county-wide voice of DeKalb County. Let Us Know What You Think! THE CHAMPION encourages opinions from its readers. Please write to us and express your views. Letters should be brief, typewritten and contain the writer's name, address and telephone number for verification. All letters will be considered for publication. Send Letters To: Editor, The Champion, P.O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347 Fax to: (404) 370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779 andrew@dekalbchamp.com www.championnewspaper.com Deadline for news releases: Thursday, 1 week prior to publication date. GA 30031-1347. Articles appearing in The Champion may not be reproduced without written approval of the publisher. All rights reserved.The opinions expressed by editors and contributing writers are not necessarily those of the publishers. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION • $39.00 Printed on 100% recycled paper CIRCULATION VERIFICATION | COUNCIL