#offthesquare

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.