This Sunday, members of the Decatur community gathered at the Beacon Municipal Plaza to protest a Jim Crow-era Confederate monument featured prominently in Decatur Square. The monument, located in front of the historic Dekalb County Courthouse, was erected in 1908 to honor the soldiers of the Confederacy.
The statue, called “Lost Cause,” bears an inscription which refers to Confederate soldiers as a “covenant keeping race.”
A 2010 law prevents Confederate markers from being “relocated, removed, concealed, obscured, or altered in any fashion; provided, however, that appropriate measures for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of such monuments or memorials shall not be prohibited.” Advocates for the marker’s removal argue that the obelisk can be moved for its own preservation and placed in a cemetery or museum. In recent months, the statue has been the target of vandalism and was even smeared with feces in August.
A MoveOn.org petition to remove the statue has gained over 2,000 signatures. “Children of color look up at this monument daily, seeing a symbol of an ideology that stripped their rights as citizens and dignity as humans,” the petition states. A counter-petition has also been created, in an effort to combat the protesters’ demands for the marker’s removal. The Change.org petition has a little over 2,000 signatures, as well, and refers to the protestors’ efforts as part of “an all out assault on history.”
Co-sponsored by Hate Free Decatur, Create Community 4 Decatur: Black Lives Matter, Beacon Hill NAACP, Dekalb County NAACP, Atlanta NAACP, Oakhurst Presbyterian, Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, Georgia WAND, Teens in Action, and the Decatur High School Black Student Union, the march was not lacking in community leadership. Marchers departed the Beacon Municipal Plaza and wound their way up Commerce Drive and into the Decatur Square, where they congregated around the monument for a rally.
The speakers emphasized the importance of youth presence at the rally, frequently praising the young leadership that was present and featuring student speakers from Decatur High School and Freedom University. Agnes Scott’s own Kailah Douglas, President of the Agnes Scott NAACP, read a statement from State Representative Renitta Shannon during the rally.
Local news outlet Decaterish.com, reports that that county officials are engaging in fact-finding efforts regarding the monument and have gathered a committee comprised of DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, Presiding Officer of the Board of Commission, Kathie Gannon, Commissioner Jeff Rader, City of Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett, and Commissioner Tony Powers who will explore next steps regarding the monument.
Below is a flyer from the march.