Groups urge governor to cancel Confederate Memorial Day event at Stone Mountain Park

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Two groups are pushing for Gov. Brian Kemp to cancel a Confederate Memorial Day event at Stone Mountain Park.

It’s slated to begin Saturday morning on the Memorial Plaza at the park. It’ll happen not too far from where a counter event is also set to happen on Main Street.

Derrica Williams told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington that she’s disturbed any time she sees the Confederate flag.

Now, Williams along with other members of the Stone Mountain Action Coalition, or SMAC, is fighting to keep everyone from seeing the confederate flag on Saturday.

“Our goal is to remove all celebrations of the confederacy from Stone Mountain Park,” Williams said. “We want to enjoy the park for the beautiful place that it is. We should be able to do that without having to walk under Confederate flags.”

Both SMAC and the Southern Poverty Law Center want Kemp and the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to cancel the Confederate Memorial Day event at Stone Mountain Park.

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The event, sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, draws a number of Confederate supporters each year.

This year’s keynote speaker is John Weaver, a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens -- an organization the SPLC has identified as a hate group.

“It was treasonous, and we need to focus on what unifies Georgia and all Georgians,” Georgia NACCP president Gerald Griggs said.

Washington attempted to contact the Sons of Confederate Veterans on Monday for comment on her story, but her calls were not returned.

However, organization leaders have previously said that they are not racist and don’t support hate against other groups.

Still, Williams said if the Confederate Memorial Day event is allowed to happen on Saturday, she along with other groups will hold a counter-event at the same time and in the same area.

“We will talk about ways that you can combat racism. We will talk about best practices and other tools that you can use to advance equity,” Williams said.

That counter event is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday in Stone Mountain.

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