Stone Mountain celebrates Juneteenth as counter to site's notorious past

Stone Mountain Park is one of the most visited destinations in the southeastern United States. Among attractions in Georgia, many will say it's a must-see historical monument.

Many others, however, will also say that it is one of the most controversial memorials in the country, a massive shrine to white supremacy and an ode to the country's darkest days.

Engraved into the massive stone mountainside are depictions of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, three of the most prominent Confederate leaders. The permeating existence of carvings has been criticized by political leaders such as former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor Stacy Abrams.

"We must never celebrate those who defended slavery and tried to destroy the Union ... the visible image of Stone Mountain's edifice remains a blight on our state and should be removed," she said on Twitter in 2017.

A carving on Stone Mountain honoring Confederate generals is shown on Monday, May 24, 2021, in Stone Mountain, Ga. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association board approved some minor changes in the popular park, located near Atlanta, but did not address any possible changes to the carving or streets named after Confederate generals as some had hoped. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

On that mountain also sprang the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist terrorist hate group. In 1915, the second iteration of the Klan began with a meeting of 15 members atop the monument.

In recent years, changes have been made by local officials to rename controversial landmarks in the area, including a street named after Sam Venable, who helped create the monument and helped spur the resurgence of the Klan.

People attend a meeting of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association Monday, May 24, 2021, in Stone Mountain, Ga. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association board approved some minor changes in the popular Confederate-themed park, located near Atlanta, but did not address any possible changes to the carving or streets named after Confederate generals as some had hoped. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

However, locals have called for more change, including the changing of more street signs and the Stone Mountain carvings themselves.

But now, more than 100 years after the Klan created the monument for its rebirth, different groups are ready to reclaim the location and begin a new legacy.

This Saturday will mark the first year that Juneteenth will be recognized as a federal holiday after President Joe Biden signed a law making it the first new federal holiday since the addition of Martin Luther King Day in 1983. Celebrated annually to remember the end of slavery in the U.S. and to mark the date in 1865 when enslaved men and women in Galveston, Texas, finally learned the news that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation - more than two years after it had been enacted.

Streets signs honoring Confederate generals are shown on Monday, May 24, 2021, in Stone Mountain, Ga. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association board approved some minor changes in the popular park, located near Atlanta, but did not address any possible changes to the carving or streets named after Confederate generals as some had hoped. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

This year, the first Juneteenth celebration at Stone Mountain will be commemorated with a festival of live music, choirs, vendors, African drummers and dancers, a cultural exhibit and fireworks, according to the event webpage.

The main festivities were scheduled to take place between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday night and the weather, while on the warm side, was expected to not interfere with the celebration.

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