In the wake of events in Charlottesville, Virginia, some people in Georgia are calling for the removal of the carving of Confederate leaders on the side of Stone Mountain.
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Carved into the mountain are figures of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.
Brenda Hudspeth of Florida says, to her, the carving is a symbol of racism, but it would take too much work to take it down.
“I don’t think they should just take it down like that; they’ve had it up there forever. So, I think they should just leave it up there, like it is,” Hudspeth says.
George Rodriguez, also from Florida, doesn’t want the carving to be removed either, but for different reasons.
“I understand that some people might look at this and say, ‘Hey, this is a reminder of what we can become again,’ but at the same time, I see it of where we were and where we’re at now and what a better nation we’ve become. So, to me, I don’t think it should come down,” Rodriguez says.
Brenda Brawner traveled from Tennessee just to see the carving, when she heard they might get removed.
“I just wanted to come down and see it because I was afraid they would try to get rid of it and would hate to see them do that because it’s a work of art,” Brawner says.
She says the carving serves as a piece of Southern history and can’t be erased.
“It is our history, and even if they take it down or cover it, it’s still our history. And it was a bad time. I hate what happened before and after. I hate what’s happening now,” Brawner says.
Officials with Stone Mountain Park say the property serves as a museum where historical artifacts, including Confederate symbols, belong.
In Charlottesville on Saturday, white nationalists rallied against the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Lee from a local park. Events turned violent.
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