Hate Free Decatur

We had a successful rally with 50 to 75 individuals of all ages and backgrounds congregate in front of the confederate memorial demanding that it be removed from the square. Though the DeKalb County Commission voted in January 2018 for a resolution whereby the monument would be removed, they have not received any proposals requesting the monument. As a result, the Commissioners will be considering a proposal on Tuesday May 8th that calls for the monument to be moved to another location in the square. This is unacceptable and keeps the monument lodged in Decatur’s heart.

Now that we have some momentum built up, let’s put it to good use before Tuesday’s meeting. Here is what we need you to do:

1. Participate in the Tweet Storm Telling the Commissioners We Want the Confederate Monument #OffTheSquare.

Starting Monday at 9 am, @hatefreedecatur will begin a tweet storm to Commissioners @raderjeff @KathieGannon @stevebradshawd4 @meredadjohnson @gregoryadamsd7 stating “DeKalb Residents Want the Confederate Monument #OffTheSquare”

We encourage you to participate by retweeting our tweets and creating your own tweets to the Commissioners using the hastag #OfftheSquare

2. Email the Commissioners Telling Them You Want the Monument Off the Square

Email addresses for all the commissioners are provided below. Here is a template email you can send:

Dear Commissioner(s) [INSERT NAME],

My name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address].

I am writing because I have learned about the proposal up for review this Tuesday May 8th before the Operations Committee concerning the confederate monument. I ask that you vote no to any proposal that would seek to move the monument to another part of the downtown Decatur Square. The purpose of the movement around the removal of the monument is that it should not be located in the heart of downtown Decatur, just a few feet from the DeKalb County Courthouse.

Instead, I ask that you adopt Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson’s Proposal whereby a Task Force of DeKalb County residents reviews the close to 1700 properties owned by DeKalb County and determines the best location for the monument. This proposal is the best use of everyone’s time and resources. Let’s make sure we do this the right way.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

3. Call the DeKalb County Commissioners and Tell Them You Want the Monument #OfftheSquare

In addition to email addresses, we have provided the phone numbers of the DeKalb County Commissioners below. Please take a moment to call them letting them know that you want the monument off the square and you believe the proposal from Mereda Davis Johnson, described above in the template email, is the process that the Commission should adopt.

4. Forward this email to friends and neighbors.

5. Come to the Operations Committee Meeting on Tuesday May 8th at 2pm!!!

The Meeting is open to the public however there is no option for public comment. Regardless, we want the Commission to see our PEOPLE POWER!

District 1: Nancy Jester, 404-371-2844, [email protected]

District 2: Jeff Rader - 404-371-2863, [email protected]

District 3: Larry Johnson, 404-371-2425, [email protected]

District 4: Steve Bradshaw, 404-371-4907, [email protected]

District 5: Mereda Davis, 404-371-2159, [email protected]

District 6: Kathie Gannon, 404-371-4909, [email protected]

District 7: Gregory Adams, 404-371-2899, [email protected]

CEO: Michael Thurmond, 404-371-2881, [email protected]

In Solidarity,

Hate Free Decatur

Beacon Hill NAACP

Atlanta NAACP

Georgia NAACP

Georgia #Not1More Coalition

Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)

Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)

Jewish Voices for Peace

Us Protecting Us

Georgia Alliance for Social Justice

Decatur, GA: On Saturday, May 5, at 3pm, a coalition of community groups will reconvene on Decatur Square to demand removal of the DeKalb County confederate monument from the Decatur Square. The DeKalb County commission, which owns the monument, voted to remove this symbol of white supremacy on January 23 but has not yet identified a new location for the monument. According to Mawuli Davis, President of the Beacon Hill NAACP Organizing Committee, “The refusal of other locations to take on this monument shows how successful educational outreach has been in spreading the true story of this white supremacist monument.”

Coalition members have learned that the DeKalb County Commission will consider a proposal on Tuesday, May 8 to move the monument to another part of the square. Says Sara Patenaude, historian and co-founder of Hate Free Decatur, “the location of the monument on the courthouse square is just as much an expression of white supremacy as the words engraved on it.” Decatur residents will gather on Saturday to protest this proposal.

The work to relocate the DeKalb confederate monument began last August, after the murder of Heather Heyer by white supremacists protesting the removal of a confederate monument in Charlottesville, VA. DeKalb activists gathered nearly 3,000 signatures calling for the removal of the Decatur monument, held a well-attended march in September 2017, and convened a community history panel in October 2017. The Decatur City Commission, which maintains the square where the monument is located, has also passed a resolution calling for its removal.

The DeKalb monument was erected in 1908, the same year Georgia passed a constitutional amendment denying black men the right to vote, and just two years after the white supremacist Atlanta race riots. A state law passed in 2001 updated the Georgia state flag from using the confederate battle flag to the current confederate “stars and bars” layout. This same law prevents the destruction of confederate memorials but allows for their relocation.

The DeKalb County Commission is considering a resolution to relocate a Confederate monument from the Decatur Square.

A spokesperson for DeKalb says a resolution was introduced at Tuesday’s meeting and deferred to the next meeting.

Decatur, GA: The DeKalb County Commission has released the official legal opinion by County Attorney O.V. Brantley, which says the County does have the legal right to relocate the Confederate monument currently situated in Decatur Square. According to the attorney, “DeKalb County as a local government would be authorized to relocate the publicly owned Monument, as long as its new location does not conceal it from visible display.”

Local residents of DeKalb County have advocated for the removal of the Confederate monument since August 14, 2017, the week after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A petition addressed to local officials garnered more than 2,600 signatures, and the City of Decatur passed a symbolic resolution calling for the removal of the monument on September 18. With this legal opinion, DeKalb County has a clear path for right, moral, and legal action to relocate this symbol of white supremacy. Hate Free Decatur, along with our coalition partners, call upon the County Commission to adopt a resolution to do exactly this.

Decatur, GA: In October, the DeKalb County Commission approved Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson’s resolution requiring that the DeKalb County Attorney make a legal determination about the ownership and legality of moving the Confederate monument on Decatur Square. The resolution gave the County Attorney 30 days to provide her opinion. Last week marked the expiration of that 30 day deadline, and the determination is to be shared at the next County Commission meeting at 9am on December 5, in the Maloof Auditorium (1300 Commerce Dr., Decatur, GA 30030).

Residents have been demanding the removal of the Confederate monument since August 14, 2017, the week after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A petition addressed to local officials garnered more than 2,600 signatures, and the City of Decatur passed a symbolic resolution calling for the removal of the monument on September 18.

Current state law, OCGA 50-3-1(b), prohibits the removal of Confederate symbols and monuments but contains exemptions allowing relocation for the purposes of preservation, protection and interpretation. This law was put into place in 2001 as a compromise measure to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state flag of Georgia but has yet to be challenged in court. State Senator Elena Parent and State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver have pre-filed legislation to change the law in the upcoming legislative session. While Hate Free Decatur supports changing the law, we also believe that the law permits the monument to be relocated from the Decatur Square. The Beacon Hill chapter of the NAACP, which exists within the City of Decatur, has offered to arrange pro-bono legal support for the County should others seek a challenge to the Commission’s actions with respect to relocating the monument.

In addition to the legal opinion, the October resolution authorized the creation of a committee of historians “to provide objective interpretive context for the monument using primary source data.” This committee of historians includes three of the historians who participated in the October 9, 2017, panel discussion about the monument: Dr. Joseph Crespino, Professor of American History at Emory University; Dr. Maurice Hobson, Asst. Professor of African American Studies at Georgia State University, and Dr. Robin Morris, Asst. Professor of History at Agnes Scott College. The committee’s first meeting is December 6, 2017.

With daily reminders of the current resurgence of white supremacy, including the U.S.’s failure to sign on to a United Nations resolution condemning white supremacists and Nazis, the removal of this monument is all the more urgent. With the holidays and New Year's around the corner, DeKalb residents are asking if the County can ring in the new year free of this symbol of hatred and to remove this monument to white supremacy from our public square.

The DeKalb County Commission anticipates getting the legal department's opinion about the ownership of the monument (public v. private) and the legality of removing the monument at the next commission meeting on Tuesday, December 5th. Let's PACK IT OUT.

Decatur, GA: This morning, Tuesday, October 24, the DeKalb County Commission voted 6-1 to approve Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson’s resolution calling for the County legal team to render an opinion on the legality of removing the Confederate monument from Decatur square, and creating a plan for the monument’s relocation. The sole dissenting vote was Commissioner Nancy Jester. This is a historic moment in Georgia history, as the Commissioners stand for the right side of history. Today the Commissioners showed that they understand the monument was erected in 1908 to celebrate the continued subjugation of black residents of DeKalb County, and that they reject the continued celebration of the men who took up arms against the United States to defend slavery and the Confederacy.

With this resolution, the County legal department has 30 days to resolve the questions of who owns the monument and how to work within current state law, OCGA 50-3-1(b), which protects Confederate symbols and monuments. This law was put into place in 2001 as a compromise measure to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state flag of Georgia but has yet to be challenged in court. This law contains specific provisions allowing for the relocation of such monuments for the purposes of preservation, protection, and interpretation.

Hate Free Decatur and other supporting organizations including Beacon Hill, Atlanta, and DeKalb County chapters of the NAACP believe that regardless of who owns the monument, it can be legally removed under current provisions of the law. With daily reminders of the current resurgence of white supremacy, including Richard Spencer’s speech in Florida last week, removal of this monument is all the more urgent to ensure the public safety for the residents of Decatur, Georgia. The Beacon Hill chapter of the NAACP, which exists within the City of Decatur, has offered to arrange pro-bono legal support for the County should others seek a challenge to the Commission’s actions with respect to removal of the monument.

Decatur, GA: Last month, the City of Decatur codified its long-standing practice of not detaining people at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless the agency first obtains a judicially issued warrant. In launching his gubernatorial campaign, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle has purposely and maliciously misrepresented this action as being in violation of Georgia’s “anti-sanctuary” law. As stated by Decatur City Attorney Bryan Downs in response to State Auditor Greg Griffin, nothing about Decatur City’s policy violates current Georgia law. Hate Free Decatur along with Project South, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and the Georgia Not1More Coalition condemn Lt. Governor Cagle’s racist language and actions, which target immigrants, refugees, and communities of color for political gain.

Lt. Governor Cagle’s threats to remove funding from the City of Decatur has absolutely no legal standing. Instead of promoting a vision of unity and solidarity for all people in the State of Georgia, Cagle is using sensationalist alt-right tactics of xenophobia and hate to win votes. By doing so he is promoting division between people of color and white Georgians at a time when we are already having difficult conversations about white supremacy. Cagle does not care for “the safety and wellbeing of the citizens of our state” -- if he did, he would have applauded the City of Decatur’s step in the right direction in defending everyone’s 4th Amendment rights.

Lt. Governor Cagle’s racially charged language on his social media platform is similar to the falsehoods promoted by alt-right and white supremacists. He lies by alleging that the City of Decatur “wants to provide sanctuary to criminal illegal aliens.” The City of Decatur has just affirmed its responsibility is to uphold the constitutional rights of everyone. Federal courts have found time and time again that localities run afoul of the Constitution by illegally prolonging the detention of undocumented immigrants on the sole basis of ICE detainers. By implementing this policy, the City of Decatur has ensured that it will be abiding by constitutional mandates.

Cagle lies in saying the City of Decatur’s policy prohibits communication with ICE, when it does nothing of the kind. The Lt. Governor has further demonstrated his willingness to spread misinformation with a misleading online petition. Anti-immigrant activists are using misinformation to, once again, push their white supremacist agenda and further criminalize communities of color. Falsehoods perpetuated by the office of the Lt. Governor are an insult to the people of Decatur, Clarkston, Atlanta, and Georgia at large.

We condemn Lt. Governor Cagle for using such cheap tactics to benefit his social standing among far-right and anti-immigrant groups during his run for Governorship. We want our elected officials to have the moral fiber to speak the truth even if it doesn’t chime with their own opinions - Cagle's campaign launch does not pass this bar.

Decatur has had this policy in effect for over a decade; the decision to codify is precisely because of the disingenuous behavior and politically opportunistic tactics of people like Lt. Governor Cagle in attacking our constitutional rights. His fearmongering and lies are not welcome in the City of Decatur.

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Georgia #Not1More Coalition Members: Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR), Southerners On New Ground (SONG), Project South, Women Watch Afrika, Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Atlanta Jobs with Justice, US Human Rights Network, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Georgia WAND, Racial Action Justice Center, Solutions not Punishment Coalition, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America, Georgia Detention Watch, and Jewish Voice For Peace.

Decatur, GA: The Maloof Auditorium was a packed house last night in Downtown Decatur as nearly 200 people came to hear local eminent historians discuss Confederate monuments. The event was hosted by DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson and sponsored by Hate Free Decatur, Beacon Hill NAACP, DeKalb NAACP, Atlanta NAACP, Agnes Scott NAACP, Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, & Create Community 4 Decatur: Black Lives Matter. The panelists discussed the events surrounding the erection of the Decatur monument, the rejection of a “Lost Cause” version of Civil War history, and the importance of working as a community to dismantle the systems and symbols of white supremacy.

The discussion was in response to calls by community members to remove the Confederate monument which stands in the Decatur square. As the historians explained, the Decatur monument was erected shortly after the racist violence of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots, when two newspapermen “tried to out-racist each other” (Dr. Robin Morris). The Decatur monument was dedicated the same year Georgia enacted a series of laws specifically created to stop black men from being able to vote. Fundraising for the Decatur monument, as for many across the country, was spearheaded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group of white women who took on a concerted effort to change the memory of the reasons for the Civil War -- and effort, explained the panelists, that was resoundingly successful, despite Confederate leaders stating plainly and repeatedly that the Civil War was fought to protect slavery.

Furthermore, the historians explained, moving monuments is neither unprecedented nor an erasure of history. Monuments were removed in Germany following World War II and in former Soviet satellite states following the fall of the Soviet Union, yet both histories are remembered. In South Africa and in the Congo, communities have grappled with the difficult histories that were written from only the point of view of white people, and the monuments erected to celebrate those who created and maintained white supremacy in their countries. By relocating the monument away from Decatur square, the DeKalb County Commission would have an opportunity to fill the space with something that reflects the true spirit of the community.

Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson has introduced a resolution to take the first steps towards removing the monument. It goes before the Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services (PECS) Committee this afternoon, at 1pm in the Maloof Auditorium (1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030). Members of Hate Free Decatur will be in attendance.

History Discussion Panelists were:

Dr. Joseph Crespino is the Jimmy Carter Professor of 20th century American political history and Southern history since Reconstruction. Author of Strom Thurmond’s America and In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative Counterrevolution. Co-editor, with Matthew Lassiter, of The Myth of Southern Exceptionalism. He is a historian of the twentieth century United States. His published work has examined the intersections of region, race and religion in American politics in the second half of the twentieth century.

Dr. Maurice J. Hobson is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at Georgia State University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in History, focusing in 20th Century African American History from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Dr. Hobson’s research interests are grounded in the fields of 20th Century U.S. and African American history, African American studies, oral history and ethnography, urban and rural history, political economy, and popular cultural studies. He is working to form a new and emerging field that he calls Black New South Studies and will be publishing The Legend of the Black Mecca: Myth, Maxim and the Making of an Olympic City.

Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt works as a historian and writer in Decatur, Georgia. Her first book, Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. She also coedited, with Matthew Hild, Reconsidering Southern Labor History: Race, Class, and Power. Dr. Merritt also writes historical pieces for the public, with letters and essays appearing in Aeon, Bill Moyers, and The New York Times.

Dr. Robin Morris is an Assistant Professor of History at Agnes Scott. She earned her PhD and Master’s Degree from Yale after earning a degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Morris teaches 20th century United States, Southern, and public history with a concentration in gender and political realignment in post-1945 Georgia. Dr. Morris is an alumnae of DeKalb County schools, which she attended from kindergarten to the 12th grade.

Dr. Kurt Young is Former Chair, Department of Political Science at Clark Atlanta University. Dr. Young is an Associate Professor, his research interests are Pan-Africanism, Africana Political Thought, Africana Political Movement, African American Politics, and African & Caribbean Political. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and earlier degrees in history. Dr. Young has presented on culture, Black consciousness, and institutional racism.