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LOCAL
THURSDAY, APRIL 19 -25, 2018 • Page 4
DeKalb NAACP wants
Confederate tributes removed
from Stone Mountain Park
BY CARLA PARKER
carla@dekalbchamp.com
The DeKalb County
NAACP said the organization
supports the removal of the
Confederate monument
on the north side of Stone
Mountain, despite other
media outlets implying the
organization is opposed to
the removal.
On April 5, the
organization issued a
statement saying, "Due to
the regressive mindset of
many Georgians who wish
to maintain the status quo
or even to go back into the
past (neither of which can
ever happen) and due to the
enormous cost of removing
the Confederate-related
carving from the north face
of the mountain, the NAACP
DeKalb does not presently
advocate for the carving to be
removed."
The NAACP then issued
another press release April 11
clarifying their position.
"Nothing could be further
from the truth," branch
President Teresa Hardy
said. "We are adamantly not
opposed to the removal of
the monument and wish
that the current political
environment and the courage
existed in the Georgia General
Assembly to facilitate such a
move."
In the first press release,
the organization announced
its position on the status of
Confederate symbols and
Stone Mountain Park being
designated as a Confederate
memorial designation.
DeKalb NAACP officials said
the park being a memorial
to the Confederate States
of America is a "blight on
Georgia's social and economic
advancement and an insult to
the descendants of Georgia's
former slaves and to the
integrity of every Georgian of
goodwill."
"The Confederate
sculpture and the park
were both initiatives to
perpetuate the myth of White
supremacy,"the organization
said. "Viewing the park and its
antebellum components as a
memorial to the Confederate
States of America should fill
one with shame, rather than
with honor or pride."
The carving on the
mountain portrays three
Confederate leaders of
the Civil War: President of
the Confederate States of
America Jefferson Davis
and generals Robert E. Lee
and Thomas J. "Stonewall"
Jackson and their favorite
horses, "Blackjack,""Traveller"
The DeKalb County NAACP said the organization supports the removal of the Confederate monument on Stone
Mountain.
and "Little Sorrel."
The carving was conceived
by C. Helen Plane, a charter
member of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy
(UDC).The Venable family,
original owners of the
mountain, deeded the north
face of the mountain to the
UDC in 1916. The UDC was
given 12 years to complete a
large Civil War monument.
Gutzon Borglum was
commissioned to do the
carving but abandoned the
project in 1925 and went on
to begin Mount Rushmore.
American sculptor Augustus
Lukeman continued the
project until 1928, when
further work stopped for 30
years. In 1958, at the urging of
Georgia Gov. Marvin Griffin,
the Georgia Legislature
approved a measure to
purchase Stone Mountain for
$1,125,000.
In 1963, Walker Hancock
was selected to complete
the carving, and work began
in 1964. The carving was
completed by Roy Faulkner.
The carving was considered
complete on March 3,1972.
The DeKalb NAACP said
in the first press release that
until such time as the will and
the courage to remove the
monument exist, they would
like to see the following
changes at the park:
• Cease all reference to Stone
Mountain Parkas a memorial
to the Confederacy.
• Modify the Historic Square,
so that it does not refer to a
plantation.
• Remove all antebellum
references and symbols at
the park.
• Change the names of all
the streets named for
Confederates.
"The NAACP DeKalb
recognizes that the above
changes will require the
Georgia General Assembly
to change the statutes
which now protect Georgia's
Confederate monuments,"
the organization said. "The
financial cost to make [those]
changes, however, is nominal,
and the changes require only
the will and the courage."
DeKalb woman urges commissioners to reduce speed limits
Almost a decade ago,
14-year-old Southwest DeKalb
High School student Carmon
McBride died in a car accident
near Kelly Chapel Road.
Some in the area have
described traffic conditions
in the Kelly Chapel Road
and Rainbow Drive area as
"dangerous"and one DeKalb
County woman said she plans
to take a stand.
Ann Woods, a former
substitute teacher who spent
time in Southwest DeKalb
High School, said she wants to
keep south DeKalb students
safe by having speed limits
reduced in the area.
On April 10, Woods
spoke in front of county
commissioners during a board
of commissioners meeting
and requested that county
officials consider reducing the
speed limit in the area.
"They drive around
here like it's [Interstate] 20.
We really need some help
with this. It's not fair to
our students,"Woods said.
"You have to make it safe so
students can walk to and from
school.This road claimed
the life of a student from
Southwest DeKalb several
years ago and in 2017 a head-
on collision sent several to the
hospital."
In an interview with The
Champion, Woods said she's
requesting the county reduce
the speed limit around the
schools to 35 miles per hour.
According to Woods,
residents in the Rainbow Drive
area face traffic conditions
which include traffic from
six churches, three daycare
centers, Greenforest Academy,
Porter Sanford III Performing
Arts and Community Center,
retailers, Southwest DeKalb
High School and Rainbow
Elementary.
Some roads around
schools such as Barack
Obama Elementary, Ronald
E. McNair Academy and Bob
Mathis Elementary in south
DeKalb have a speed limit of
35 miles per hour, but around
Columbia High School and
Columbia Elementary the
speed limit is 40 miles per
hour.
"When you get up to the
school zone, the speed limit
goes up.That's asinine. It's
craziness. Why would you do
that when you know you have
students walking,"Woods
said.
Woods said the county
has added sidewalks to the
area and because of the
convenience of walking,
county officials should make
it safer by reducing the speed
limit.
"I'm not going to give
up on this,"Woods said."I've
lived in this community more
than 30 years and I've seen
the transition of the traffic
getting heavier. It's imperative
that we make it safe for the
joggers, walkers and our
students."
POLLEN Continued From Page 2A
outside early in the day should be cautious.
Washing your hands is also important during
this time, Ford said.
"Just be mindful that pollen is on your
clothes and be careful about touching your
eyes.There's also pollen on your car and if
you touch your car then rub your eyes you've
completely infected yourself," Ford said.
Ford said she recommends using any
number of allergy medicines that are available
in stores but warns that individuals should
look for medicine that specifically treats the
symptoms they are experiencing.
"Buy the medicine that treats your
symptoms. If you don't need it, don't take it,"
Ford said.
