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a30 feature
Monday 6 July 2020
As monuments fall, Confederate carving has size on its side

By KATE BRUMBACK and burning atop the mountain
RUSS BYNUM Associated on Thanksgiving night.
Press Budget problems plagued
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) the Stone Mountain project
— Some statues of figures and work on the sculpture
from America's slave-own- languished until the state
ing past have been yanked bought the mountain and
down by protesters, others surrounding land in 1958
dismantled by order of gov- for a public park. Finishing
ernors or city leaders. But the monument gained re-
the largest Confederate newed urgency as the civil
monument ever crafted — rights movement brought
colossal figures carved into unwanted change to defi-
the solid rock of a Georgia ant Southern states.
mountainside — may out- "It became the center-
last them all. piece of the park," Deaton
Stone Mountain's super- said. "There was never any
sized sculpture depicting doubt that the state's inten-
Gen. Robert E. Lee, Con- tion of finishing this was of
federate President Jeffer- a piece with massive resis-
son Davis and Gen. Thom- tance."
as J. "Stonewall" Jackson An estimated 10,000 peo-
mounted on horseback ple attended the monu-
has special protection en- ment's dedication in 1970.
shrined in Georgia law. Another two years passed
Even if its demolition were This June 23, 2015 file photo shows a carving depicting Confederate Civil War figures Stonewall before its official comple-
sanctioned, the monu- Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, in Stone Mountain, Ga. tion. Five decades later,
ment's sheer size poses se- Associated Press the park at Stone Mountain
rious challenges. The carv- markets itself as a family
ing measures 190 feet (58 They didn't know me, but obstacle. have fallen flat with the theme park rather than a
meters) across and 90 feet they hated me and my an- When Georgia lawmakers Republican-controlled Leg- shrine to the "Lost Cause"
(27 meters) tall. An old pho- cestors. It hurts to see those voted in 2001 to change islature. mythology that romanti-
to shows a worker on scaf- people celebrated and the state flag that had Asked whether Stone cizes the Confederacy as
folding just below Lee's chin a memorial dedicated to been dominated by the Mountain still deserves spe- chivalrous defenders of
barely reaching his nose. them." Confederate battle em- cial protection, GOP Gov. states' rights. Its website
Numerous Confederate Still, Bambara admits she's blem since 1956, language Brian Kemp didn't give a di- highlights miniature golf
statues and monuments at a loss for what should to guarantee the preserva- rect answer when speaking and a dinosaur-themed
to American slave owners be done with the massive tion of the Stone Mountain to reporters June 26. attraction while downplay-
have come down across monument, conceived sculpture was included as "As I've said many times, we ing the Confederate carv-
the South amid recent pro- some 50 years after the a bargaining chip. can't hide from our history," ing, Confederate flags and
tests against racial injustice. Civil War ended but not fin- The law states that "the Kemp said, while citing the brick terraces dedicated to
Stone Mountain hasn't es- ished until 1972. memorial to the heroes of new hate crimes law he each Confederate state.
caped notice. The sculpture's creators the Confederate States of signed the same day as a Paula and Michael Smith
After organizing a protest used dynamite to blast America graven upon the significant step in fighting of Monticello, Georgia,
where thousands marched huge chunks of granite face of Stone Mountain racial injustice. visited Stone Mountain on
in neighboring Atlanta, away from the mountain, shall never be altered, re- Stone Mountain wasn't a Monday so their 10-year-
19-year-old Zoe Bambara then spent years carving moved, concealed, or ob- battle site and had little old grandson could see the
held a demonstration June the detailed figures with scured in any fashion." historical significance to monument for the first time.
4 with a much smaller group hand-held cutting torches. Ryan Gravel, an Atlanta- the Civil War. But 50 years "The mountain itself is ab-
— her permit allowed no Erasing the carving would based urban designer, after the war ended, the solutely breathtakingly
more than 25 — inside the be dangerous, time-con- noted the law doesn't exposed surface of the beautiful and the carving
state park where the sculp- suming and expensive. mandate maintenance. mountain's northern face is an engineering marvel,"
ture has drawn millions of The stone is likely too du- He suggested allowing na- sparked an idea among said Paula Smith, a 70-year-
tourists for decades. rable for sandblasting, said ture to take its course, let- the United Daughters of the old white woman who dis-
"The Confederacy doesn't Ben Bentkowski, president ting vegetation grow over Confederacy. missed talk of removing or
celebrate the South; it cel- of the Atlanta Geological the sculpture from its nooks "It looked like a giant bill- altering the carving as an
ebrates white suprema- Society. Controlled explo- and crannies. board," said Stan Dea- attempt to "steal American
cy," said Bambara, who is sions using TNT packed into "I think we're in a moment ton, senior historian for the history."
Black. "The people on that holes drilled in the moun- where pushing the limits of Georgia Historical Society. Jarvis Jones climbs the
mountain, they hated me. tainside would work, he that law is possible," Grav- The group hired sculptor steep hiking trail on the
said. el said. "And certainly the Gutzon Borglum — who back side of Stone Moun-
"With the logistics, the safe- scale of the challenge at later would carve Mount tain several times a week.
ty aspect of it, you'd have Stone Mountain warrants Rushmore — to design a The 29-year-old Black man
a budget certainly north of that." massive Confederate mon- said he tries to avoid seeing
$1 million, I suspect," Bent- Other ideas — such as add- ument in 1915. the carving.
kowski said. "You'll need ing a bell tower atop the That same year, the movie "I definitely understand ev-
insurance for the project, mountain in honor of the "The Birth of a Nation" glo- eryone wants their history
you'll need hazard pay for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rified the Reconstruction- to be represented," Jones
people working on the sur- — have failed to take hold. era Ku Klux Klan and Stone said. "But when it comes
face of it. It could easily And Democratic proposals Mountain played a key role to the oppression of other
take a year or more." to strip the protective lan- in its resurgence, marking people, I think it needs to
There's also a sizable legal guage from Georgia law its comeback with a cross change."q