It seems that nothing is sacred. Statues that were once renowned as cherished artifacts from the past aren’t even safe in cemeteries anymore. It makes me sick that people have no respect for the dead, or for others’ ancestors. Here’s one example.
Atlanta Council members passed a resolution a week ago Monday night declaring that the city should remove the Lion of the Confederacy statue, which has been vandalized, and place it in temporary storage.
The 127-year-old Lion of the Confederacy statue, built by T.M. Brady and dedicated on Confederate Memorial Day in 1894, was erected to honor the 3,000 unknown Confederate soldiers buried at the cemetery. The lion overlooks the graves. Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 70,000 residents, including famous Atlantans, mayors and governors, and is also home to a 65-foot Confederate obelisk, built in 1870.
Georgia law includes a statute that can make it difficult for local governments to remove a Confederate monument, because it is considered unlawful to damage, relocate or remove a monument dedicated to the United States or the Confederacy. However, the Georgia General Assembly adopted updates to the law last year that allows for “appropriate measures for the preservation, protection and interpretation of such [a] monument or memorial.”
Local governments throughout metro Atlanta have also simply started ignoring the law over the last two years.
Council approved a $33,000 contract with Superior Rigging and Erecting Co. to remove the lion statue. The City has not said where it will be located long-term, and did not say when the statue removal would take place.
(Article courtesy of the Dixie Heritage Newsletter, August 26, 2021 ed.)