NAACP wants removal of Confederate generals from Stone Mountain

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP officially called for the elimination of all symbols of the Confederacy from Stone Mountain.
 
This comes on the heels of the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House.
 
NAACP's Richard Rose says the time to move is now, but admits it may be a steep slope to climb.
 
Channel 2's Berndt Petersen talked with Yolanda Shackelford, who was chaperoning a group of children from Cobb County on a trip to Stone Mountain.
 
"When I'm out here, and I have to be honest, when I'm out here enjoying Stone Mountain, I'm thinking about what it has to offer for what I'm coming for," Shackelford said.
 
But the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP has a much more serious point of view.

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The organization issued a statement calling for the removal of all symbols of the Confederacy from the park.
 
"My tax dollars should not be used to commemorate slavery," Rose said.
 
Rose said his group wants Confederate symbols removed from all state-owned buildings, parks and lands. 
 
Rose told Petersen he would start with Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
 
"Those guys need to go. They can be sand-blasted off, or somebody could carefully remove a slab of that and auction it off to the highest bidder," Rose said.
 
Shackelford said she is all for a discussion as long as it's not based on emotion.
 
"We have to look at history. We have to look at how it's affecting all people. That's my view. We are an organization of many faces. So, we always want to consider our total community," Shackelford said.
 
A spokesman for Stone Mountain Park said any removal of the Confederate flags or monuments is up to the Georgia Legislature.

WSBTV