“She named only Black people,” said Brooklyn Jacobs, who attended the graduation ceremony. “She didn’t say, ‘Oh look at the Caucasians leaving, look at the Indians leaving,’ she said Blacks.”
This was May 2015 – not May 1960.
The racist symbolism and racial attitudes on Stone Mountain haven’t changed much over the years, so why should King’s image be erected next to three Confederate war heroes – and the KKK – all who believed in demeaning and enslaving African American people?
“There is absolutely no question that Stone Mountain, even in 2015, continues to be a rallying site for racists,” SCLC President Charles Steele said. “Seems like nothing has changed since the ’60s.”
There are plenty of wonderful and non-controversial sites where King can be honored with a statue. Stone Mountain doesn’t have to be on the list. Black people don’t want King honored there and neither do Confederate loyalists.
“The Civil War has never ended for Southern sympathizers. This just continues to reinforce white supremacy,” said Richard Rose, president of the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Adding King to it is just adding insult to injury. King was a man renowned for peace and nonviolence and to dedicate something to him in a place with rogues, traitors and war-mongers is wrong.”
I couldn’t agree more.
What do you think?
(Photo: Public Domain)
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Dr. King’s Legacy Is Not Honored By Adding Him To Racist Monument was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
