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STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — A big change is coming to Stone Mountain Park. The state has spent $11 million to build a museum of truth, which park officials say will cover the monuments’ racist past.
Some people are concerned about the use of state money for the project.
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The Memorial Hall Museum is expected to take approximately two years to complete. The Memorial Association says it will have 10 chapters. One of the sections will be titled Monuments and Mythmaking.
Stone Mountain looms large not only in the landscape but also in the consciousness of Georgia.
With its sculpture of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis, it is the largest Confederate monument in the world.
It’s a long and complicated story. it’s not very pretty in parts, but we think it’s important to tell the whole story of the park, Bill Stephens, CEO of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims.
He said the museum will tell the story of the monuments’ origins in 1915, which coincided with the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan atop Stone Mountain.
It will also tell the story of the states’ purchase of the mountain in the late 1950s and how then-Governor Marvin Griffin completed the sculpture to defy integration.
He wanted to make a point, and that’s part of the story. it’s not the whole story, but it’s only part of it, Stephens said.
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Brian Morris of the Stone Mountain Action Coalition said he supports a museum that tells the truth behind the memorial, but would rather see state money spent on removing Confederate symbols from parks.
I’m concerned about the state dollars going into this project to continue perpetuating lost cause initiatives, Morris said. Change the roads of Robert E. Lee Boulevard to something more reflective of where Georgia is today.
Warner Museums, based in Birmingham, Alabama, will design the exhibit.
We hope it will be a Smithsonian-style exhibit, Stephens said.
Park visitors who spoke with Channel 2 Action News said they wanted the full story told.
The Memorial Hall Museum is expected to take approximately two years to complete.
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