Thursday, July 2
This post was provided by Father Desmond Drummer
Excerpts from
What we can do now about Stone Mountain's 150ft Confederate carving?
by Ryan Gravel & Scott Morris
"The sculpture is an irreparable scar on an ancient mountain with a long history of habitation and use by indigenous people. More blatantly offensive, however, is the sculpture’s undeniable reverence for hate and violence and the honor it bestows on the generals, who, by definition, were American traitors."
Full text of the article available at The Guardian.
"The story of the sculpture’s “heritage” began one November night in 1915, 50 years after the end of the American civil war. Fifteen men burned a cross atop the mountain and marked the founding of the modern Ku Klux Klan. The next year, Samuel Venable, a Klansman and quarry operator who owned the property, deeded its north face to the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), which planned the original carving. They commissioned the work to a Klan sympathizer – a sculptor named Gutzon Borglum, who after quitting the project in 1925, would go on to carve Mount Rushmore."
Full text of the article available at The Guardian.
"Today, with that perspective as our starting place, we must begin to transform Stone Mountain Park into a more aspirational symbol for our future. That will take time, but to set the tone for that dialogue, here are four things we can do now."
Full text of the article available at The Guardian.
"The public lands of Georgia must reflect a more accurate history of our people, and they must inspire in us a more aspirational view toward our future."
Full text of the article available at The Guardian.
1. Stop cleaning the sculpture
"We should allow growth to also overtake the sculpture’s many clefts and crinkles as they naturally collect organic material and allow moss and lichen to obscure its details." See the full article for more details.
2. Stop mowing the lawn
"Allow the Memorial Lawn to grow into a forest [...] A major problem with Stone Mountain is the formal, triumphant view of the sculpture, making the entire park a celebration of white supremacy." See the full article for more details.
3. Update the park's identity
"Conduct a quick re-evaluation of all the names, signage, narrative, flags and iconography throughout the park and remove all problematic references, including the names of streets and lakes, programming and online content." See the full article for more details.
4. Plan a new park
"Consider an international design competition that refocuses the 3,200-acre park around its namesake geological feature and transforms it into a new symbol of peace and reconciliation." See the full article for more details.
Read the full article at The Guardian and share it!