Fate of Atlanta’s Confederate monuments to be decided this fall

While Stone Mountain may be the most visible piece of Atlanta’s Confederate legacy, it’s far from the only monument to the Southern cause found across the metro.

Now, as cities across the country mull the future of relics memorializing the Old South, the future of Atlanta’s statues and memorials is coming into question.

The AJC reports that Mayor Kasim Reed has assembled a group of advisers to weigh in on the future of an array of landmarks across the city that honor the Confederacy. According to the mayor’s office, statues under consideration include two 19th-Century memorials in Oakland Cemetery—The Lion of the Confederacy statue and the Confederate Obelisk Monument.

Additionally, two early 20th-Century sculptures in Piedmont Park (including the recently vandalized Peace Monument), a bust of Sidney Lanier at Oglethorpe University, the statue of Henry Grady on Marietta Street in downtown, and the General Walker Monument on Glenwood Avenue, are all under review.

Atlanta Time Machine

The decisions made by the panel will go beyond physical monuments, with street names also under consideration in the process.

A timeline of 60 days has been given for the panel to make recommendations as to the future of the monuments, which the Atlanta History Center acknowledges were predominantly erected during the “Jim Crow era to stand in opposition to racial equality.”

According to a press release from the city, more information about the panel participants and the public input process will be available over the next few weeks.

• Kasim Reed to decide fate of Confederate statues, streets in 60 days [AJC]
• CONFEDERATE MONUMENT INTERPRETATION GUIDE [Atlanta History Center]
• Mayor Kasim Reed Statement on Confederate Monuments in the City of Atlanta [City of Atlanta]
• Unsurprisingly, Atlanta's Stone Mountain carving is center of controversy again [Curbed Atlanta]