Note: This article pertaining to Stone Mountain Carving: A Symbol of White Supremacy Which Should Be Removed? was originally published on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 9:04 in the evening and has been updated.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is a famous quote attributed to George Santayana; but it has been misquoted over the years as “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
Stone Mountain Carving: A Symbol of White Supremacy Which Should Be Removed?
If Richard Rose had his way ten years ago, the famous carving on the face of Stone Mountain would be sandblasted into history. The former president of the Atlanta branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — more popularly known as the NAACP, which is a civil rights group representing black people — believed that what is considered to be the largest high relief sculpture in the world represents three men who enacted laws that institutionalized economic oppression and denied educational opportunities, equal treatment under the law and voting rights to the descendants of the stolen Africans.
The three men depicted on the carving — Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy; Robert E. Lee, a general of the Confederate army; and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, also a general of the Confederate army — are considered Confederate heroes of the Civil War of the United States, which occurred greater than 150 years ago; but Rose reportedly said that “in the 150 years since, state and local governments in the South — including Georgia — have lionized these men as symbols of the cause of white supremacy”.
Stone Mountain is one of the more popular tourist attractions in the Atlanta metropolitan area which local people also enjoy. The mountain is 825 feet tall and covers 583 acres; while the top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level. The entire carved surface — known as the Confederate Memorial Carving — measures three acres, which is larger than a football field and Mount Rushmore. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground; measures 90 by 190 feet; and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain.
Originally intended to be completed in 1928, approximately 60 years elapsed for the carving to progress from concept to its final completion in 1972.
An ever-popular laser show using the carving as a backdrop has become a beloved tradition in the Atlanta area for both visitors and residents alike — of numerous races, religious beliefs, sexual preferences, genders and ages. Although I have not attended recently, I have enjoyed a picnic while relaxing on a blanket on the great lawn to that laser show — which is set to music — more than once…
…so should it be permanently removed?
I say no.
The following statement is attributed to the late Jimmy Carter — a former president of the United States — and summarizes his feelings, which are similar to what I feel: “There should be a distinction between the battle flag and tributes to Confederate figures, such as the large carving at Stone Mountain Park or statues in his home county in Georgia.”
What he called the “battle flag” refers to the Confederate flag, which is seen by many people as a symbol of hate; while others whose families have been located in the southern United States for generations consider it a symbol of heritage. Many people have joined the movement ten years ago to remove the Confederate flag from public buildings and monuments — a movement which gained a significant amount of momentum as a result of the actions of Dylann Roof, who was convicted in 2016 on 33 charges of killing of nine innocent people in a house of worship in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.
Final Boarding Call
My roots are not in the southern United States, so I am far from qualified to enter the debate of whether or not the Confederate flag represents hate versus heritage — but I do not believe that erasing history is the answer.
Concentration camps were certainly institutions of hate and symbols — examples of some of the blatantly worst of human behavior in recorded history where millions of people were killed simply because of reasons of fallacy and ignorance: they believed in something specific or were not perfect in terms of their appearance. Should concentration camps such as Dachau — of which I posted my thoughts and photographs in this article and this article — be razed? Let the bulldozers flatten Auchwitz — which I also visited — and forget about it?
“Never again” and “never forget” are two phrases uttered by those who suffered at the hands of those who perpetuated the Holocaust greater than 80 years ago; and I would believe that similar sentiments would be expressed by those whose ancestors were forced out of Africa and sold as slaves — a major issue which led to the aforementioned Civil War in which as many as 850,000 people died.
Slavery was abolished after the deadliest war in the United States ended by official declaration on Tuesday, May 9, 1865; and the Confederacy was dissolved shortly thereafter.
Important to note is that Stone Mountain Park has been operated by a private entity for greater than 25 years — before that, it was under the operation of the state of Georgia — but because the park celebrates the heritage of the Confederacy, symbols such as the Confederate flag and the carving cannot be removed without approval from the state of Georgia.
Regardless, I believe that the carving is a work of art which depicts an important era in the history of the United States — good or bad — and it would be a mistake to remove or erase it. After all: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
What are your thoughts? Please share how you feel in the Comments section below.
Stone Mountain Park
1000 Robert E. Lee Boulevard
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083
United States
1-478-478-6686
Operating hours vary by date and activities such as the light show and festivals.
Prices vary by multiple factors — such as the season, what is included in the ticket, and duration of time.
Parking for motor vehicles is $20.00 per day; but parking for twelve months is $40.00. Passes for both of these options can be purchased on-line.
Please consult the official Internet web site of Stone Mountain for additional details.
All photographs ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
