Georgia park with Confederate sculpture shuts gates to rally A suburban Atlanta park that's home to a massive carving of Confederate leaders says it will close its gates Saturday in the face of a planned right-wing rallyATLANTA -- Suburban Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park, home of a giant sculpture of Confederate leaders, says it will close its gates Saturday in the face of a planned right-wing rally. Last year, the park also closed down rather than allow a rally organized by white supremacists to go forward. But Stone Mountain Memorial Association spokesperson John Bankhead said the park denied the permit on Aug. 4. Although the park has historically been a gathering spot for white supremacists, the adjoining city of Stone Mountain has a majority-Black population today. The park at Stone Mountain markets itself as a family theme park rather than a shrine to the “Lost Cause” mythology that romanticizes the Confederacy as chivalrous defenders of states’ rights.

Source: ABC News August 14, 2020 23:20 UTC