Stone Mountain: What confederate lovers can learn from the Germans

June 10, 1:27 AMAtlanta Race and Politics ExaminerCliff Albright

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 To those of you who have ever had the urge to turn a relaxing night out with the family into a political rally (yes, all three or four of you), well, this article’s just for you.

This past weekend, while driving home from a fairly long and hot day of little league baseball, my wife and I got a call from a friend. She was letting us know about a family friendly “soulfest” being sponsored by one of the local radio stations. The only catch was that the event was taking place at Stone Mountain Park.

I say this was a catch, because somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was not a fan of Stone Mountain. One reason is because I don’t even like regular sized tributes to confederate “heroes”, so I definitely don’t like oversized, stone-carved tributes such as the one on Stone Mountain which pictures Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Furthermore, somewhere in my mental file cabinet, I remembered something about a connection between Stone Mountain and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), but I had never really fully researched that issue.

More importantly, the event was free, and I’m just not one to turn down free family recreation. So I kept my concerns to myself and started driving towards Stone Mountain.

Once at the park, while the kids were playing, I eventually told my wife my reservations about coming to Stone Mountain. Being a political reflection of me, only slightly better, she of course pulled out her phone and did some research. She discovered:

• Both Samuel Venable, the owner of the mountain in the early 1900s when the carving project was started, as well as Gutzon Borglum, the original sculptor, were members of the KKK;
• In November of 1915, a ceremony was held on top of the mountain to commemorate the rebirth of the KKK. It is believed that this rebirth was sparked by the unabashedly racist film, Birth of a Nation; and
• Venable deeded property rights to the KKK so the Klan could hold meetings and activities on the mountain; these rights stayed in place until sometime in the 1960s

So at this point, I’m pretty much ready to leave, especially since it had gotten dark enough for a spotlight to be focused on the huge carving, glorifying the three confederates in all their splendor. As I glanced around at the hundreds, maybe thousands, of Black folk, none of whom seemed the least bit aware of the confederate carving hovering above us, let alone bothered by it, I started to wonder if perhaps I just take history, and the attempts by some to re-write it, a little to seriously.

The scene also caused me to have flashbacks of my days in Selma, Alabama, a city usually known more for its role in the struggle for civil rights and not as much for its role during the civil war. Once a year (perhaps every two years now) the city hosts a re-enactment of the Battle of Selma. Although this historic battle, which was won by the North, is presented accurately in the Saturday version of the re-enactment, the event planners traditionally feature a Sunday version of the battle where the South wins, giving new meaning to their mantra that “the South will rise again”.

Nevertheless, the wishful thinking of the re-enactments was not the most troubling aspect of the Battle of Selma commemoration, nor was it the exact cause of my flashback. The part of the Battle of Selma festival that irritated me the most was the fact that schools all throughout Selma and surrounding counties would bring their students--hundreds of predominantly African-American students—to come and enjoy the confederate way of life. These students would learn about how southerners made clothes and popcorn, but nowhere was there a hint that this charming way of life was based on the enslavement of millions of Africans and their descendants. The fact that some of those descendants were now walking around a confederate festival buying and waving confederate flags, without any clue as to what that flag stood for, was simply mind boggling.

Which brings me back to Stone Mountain. So, there I am, in the midst of all these Black folk, trying to decide what would happen if I went around and started informing people of the mountain’s connection to the KKK. Would the people, armed with this newfound information, begin a protest at the park and maybe even start a boycott? Would we launch a movement that might lead to proceeds from the park being used to tear down systemic racism?

Or would folks just be mad that I was interrupting their summer night’s fun? After all, the fact that we could enjoy a night out in the park was somewhat symbolic of our victory over both the confederates and the Klan.

Not quite ready to test my theory of spontaneous revolt, I settled down in my chair as the laser show started. The first couple of segments, which featured images of southern life accompanied by songs like “Georgia on My Mind” and “Sweet Home Alabama”, were a little much for me, but within reason. But then it got worse. The laser beams started to outline the profiles on the mountain’s carving, and then proceeded to show a series of images designed to generate sympathy for the confederates. All of this to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic (you know--“Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!”) with special emphasis on the line “his truth is marching on”.

It became painfully clear to me that the “truth” this little display was paying tribute to was not “God’s truth” as mentioned in the actual lyrics, but Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis’ truth, a truth dedicated to the preservation of slavery.

At that point, it was time to go home.

As I drove home, I reflected on this tendency to pay honor to the confederacy and the ante-bellum southern way of life, a way of life which, by the way, was based on slavery. I couldn’t help but contrast it with the images and words I had seen and heard earlier that same day—images and words from President Obama’s visit to the beaches of Normandy in honor of the 65th anniversary of D-day. Just the day before he had visited the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald accompanied by German Chancellor Merkel. At both events, when the German Chancellor spoke, it was not with some bitter sweet memories of Nazi Germany. Her message was clear: the Nazi’s lost, and the world is better for it.

You will not go to a soccer game in Germany and see a bunch of Nazi flags flying around; this is in contrast to the number of confederate flags you’re likely to see at a typical Ole Miss football game.

You will not see German legislators designate a “Nazi History and Heritage Month” similar to the Confederate History and Heritage Month recently approved by Georgia’s General Assembly.

And, while you may find some museums dealing with the Nazi period as one which existed and must therefore be discussed, you are not likely to see such museums celebrating the Nazi “way of life”. In fact, after an admittedly brief internet search, I found only one pro-Nazi memorial site , and guess what; it’s not even in Germany. It’s actually in Wisconsin.

Yes, that Wisconsin.

Now, I know of people who genuinely want to honor their relatives who fought for the confederacy, and it may surprise some to learn that, in theory, I actually don’t have a problem with that. But it’s time for some folks to admit that there’s a fine line between honoring loved ones and glorifying the cause for which they fought, and propaganda like what I witnessed at Stone Mountain, like most confederate museums, ceremonies and organizations, cross way over that line.

I’m Cliff, and on that “note”, I’m outta here!

UPDATE: DC shooter wore confederate cap