SPLC Applauds Stone Mountain Park for Denying Sons of Confederate Veterans Another Opportunity to Lionize the Confederacy

ATLANTA, Ga. — Recently, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association denied the Georgia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans a permit for their Confederate Memorial Day event, which has been celebrated at the park for almost two decades.

The following statement is from SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks:

“We commend the Stone Mountain Memorial Association for not allowing the Sons of Confederate Veterans to continue the tradition established on Nov. 25, 1915, when over a dozen men gathered atop Stone Mountain to revive the Ku Klux Klan.

“Stone Mountain continues to brand itself as a family fun theme park. But the only message this type of celebration sends to families of color – who not only patronize the park but also heavily populate Stone Mountain and the metro Atlanta area – is one of divisiveness and white privilege.

“Safety is a real concern considering the fact that in 2019, the park allowed the firing of cannons during this gathering. It goes without saying that no theme park would allow weapons of any kind, for any reason, to ever be present at an event promoted by and for people of color.

“It is offensive that some states dedicate an entire month to revel in a war that led to the loss of more than 750,000 American lives in the name of the Confederacy’s war to maintain chattel slavery.”