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The Champion, Thursday, October 22-28,2015 Page 5A Bell tower at Stone Mountain Park a worthwhile option Changes to Stone Moun tain Park are in the wind. If Gov. Nathan Deal has his way, a bell tower com memorating Martin Luther King Jr. will be added to the monolith, according to news reports. Of course, the park, which has become Georgias No. 1 tourist attraction and where millions go annually for vacation, family reunions, special events and daily exer cise, is also home to a memo rial to the Confederacy—a relief sculpture that covers three acres with the images of Confederate heroes Jef ferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The carving has become gale@dekalbchamp.com Lifestyle Editor a controversial aspect of the park with some saying it is a historical tribute to those who fought for what they be lieved during the Civil War and others saying it honors supporters of slavery and op pression and is offensive. No matter the op tion taken regarding Stone Mountain and the sculpture (leaving it as is, adding to it, removing it), plenty of people are going to be un happy. Cries of indifference, caving to one special interest group or another will come. However it seems fitting to proceed with an option that attempts to appease as many people as possible, knowing that no option likely exists that will satisfy everyone. The bell tower and a planned permanent exhibit of Black soldiers who served in the Civil War will go a long way to better tell the complete story of the fight between the South and North and how Blacks strug gle to overcome racism and oppression. Recognizing history of ten can be tricky. How we feel about history changes greatly over time. However, facts cannot be changed. Americans fought against one another over slavery and states’ rights and many died on both sides. And this country is now a markedly different place—al though still struggling with major issues of race—be cause of it. The carvings on the mountain are as much a symbol of a bygone era as many other artifacts of that time. It’s a historically ac curate capture of a time and way of thinking, but it shouldn’t be the only things represented and commemo rated there. Adding a bell tower in tribute to King is an appro priate way to enhance recog nition of America’s Civil War history and the Confedera cy’s place in it as well as what resulted from that conflict that led to where we are to day and where we are headed in the future. = ONE MAN'S OPINION = Let Freedom Ring! “Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Look out Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississip pi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring’’ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., nearing the conclusion of his “I Have a Dream” speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memo rial at the conclusion of the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963. Work was set to begin on the Lincoln Memorial in 1913, nearly three years after Congress passed enabling legislation in 1910. Discus sion to construct a national monument in his honor had begun only two years after his assassination inl867. Congress initially ap propriated $300,000, and the monument took nearly six years to complete after the start of construction in 1914. In 1915, Mrs. Helen Plane, a president emeritus and charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began public efforts to create and fund a memorial to the Confederacy on Georgia’s Stone Mountain. Plane had read the idea in a letter to the editor of a major New York newspaper. The Stone Mountain Association bill.csicrane@gmail.com Columnist was created to handle fund raising, and work first began on the carving in 1923. The original artist and supervisor of the carving, Gutzon Bor- glum, began work, complet ing General Lee’s head for a public unveiling in January of 1924. Later disputes over work progress, fundraising and expenditures caused Borglum to resign the project and leave Georgia. He later moved to the Dakotas and oversaw the creation and sculptures on Mount Rush- more. While the Lincoln Memo rial fast rose in prominence to become one of our nation’s most iconic monuments and possibly the most popular destination on the Mall in Washington, D.C., work on the Stone Mountain carving languished for decades. In August of 1963, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the March on Washington brought 250,000 people to the Mall, and to the steps of the Lincoln Memo rial to witness the historic “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King closed his remarks with a hopeful call for free dom to ring across this na tion, and specifically across many mountain tops of his native south. He made spe cific choices in that short list, including “Stone Mountain of Georgia.” Though work on the Confederate memorial and carving had been un derway for decades, the state of Georgia only purchased the mountain and hundreds of surrounding acres in 1958. Georgia also ended the long-held easement and access to the mountain top for rallies held by the Klu Klux Klan by the mountain’s former owners, the Venable family. Two years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the speech, a small crowd of DeKalb and Georgia’s civil rights community leaders gathered atop the mountain to ring bells, commemorat ing the anniversary and im portance of the speech, cred ited with being the critical catalyst to spurring Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This began discussions, and the recent decision by the modern day Stone Mountain Memorial Associ ation (SMMA), to construct a Freedom Tower and Free dom Bell monument, honor ing Dr. King and his great speech, atop Stone Moun tain. A second addition to the park will be a permanent museum exhibit honoring the contributions, sacrifices and casualties of thousands of African-American soldiers in both the Union and Con federate armies who fought during the Civil War. “We are into addition, not subtraction here at Stone Mountain Park. This new monument and exhibit just expand the number of im portant stories to be told, of Georgia’s history, as well as our nation’s. We are the state’s most visited destina tion for many reasons, and now we will be adding two more,” said Bill Stephens, CEO, SMMA. As with the Lincoln Me morial and Stone Mountain Confederate Memorials, there will occasionally be critics and detractors. But it is very difficult to argue against these additions offer ing a more complete telling of Georgia’s history, from the Civil War through the Civil Rights era. We can’t know what Dr. King might think of this, but his family has been contacted and is supportive of the monument. Words of sup port have also already come from one of Dr. King’s key allies in the movement, 94- year old Rev. Joseph Lowery, “It is amazing. I think it is a good idea, introducing a new era to the Deep South. They are placing Martin Luther King in a place where he ought to be, where I never dreamed he would be. This is striking.” Amen to that brother, amen to that. Let Freedom Ring! Bill Crane also serves as a political analyst and com mentator for Channel 2’s Ac tion News, WSB-AM News/ Talk 750 and now 95.5 FM, as well as a columnist for The Champion, Champion Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane is a DeKalb native and business owner, living in Scottdale. You can reach him or comment on a column at bill. csicrane@gmail. com. #SianuimNG {Stall II • Speak lit}