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THE SAVAGE TRUTH: Apologies, monuments and statues

Should statues and monuments of people who made racial comments during those times be destroyed or relocated?
Credit: 13WMAZ
Randall Savage column

MACON, Ga. — This is a column of opinion and analysis by 13WMAZ's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Randall Savage.

Should Georgia apologize for its participation in slavery and the Jim Crow segregation era? Should statues and monuments of people who made racial comments during those times be destroyed or relocated?

Those questions surfaced again recently when a state senator filed a resolution calling for the slavery apology and some Georgia State University students asked Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to remove Henry W. Grady’s statue from a downtown Atlanta street.

State Sen. Donzella James filed a resolution to require the state to admit its past participation in slavery and Jim Crow, and express its profound regrets.

James is an Atlanta Democrat and 71 years old. She recalls that state officials wouldn’t let her accompany her elementary school class when they visited the Capitol.

In the past, both Democrats and Republicans have filed similar proposals  in the House and Senate. All of them died without getting serious consideration. What will happen to James's resolution during the 2020 session? It’ll probably join the others in the legislative graveyard.

Meanwhile, some Georgia State students reignited the heated debate on statues and monuments. They're seeking the removal of the Henry W. Grady Statue that stands at the intersection of Marietta and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta.

Grady was managing editor and part-owner of The Atlanta Constitution during the Reconstruction years after the Civil War

During that time, some called Grady the “spokesman of the New South” because he worked to get Northerners to invest in Atlanta industries. But the Georgia State students aren’t buying that. They prefer calling him a bigot.

In an editorial published in the Georgia State Signal, students wrote, “Grady was certainly no patriot – he was simply a racist. By keeping Grady on a literal and figurative pedestal, we continue to celebrate a legacy that is incompatible with Atlanta’s progressive character. Is this truly what ‘the city too busy to hate’ celebrates?”

Although the students asked Bottoms to move the Grady statue to the Atlanta History Center, Bottoms can’t do it. That’s because on April 26, Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 77. Among other things, that new law prohibits the removal or relocation of publicly owned memorials and statues.

The student editorial mentioned the new law, saying “just because it’s the law doesn’t make it right.” But it is the law, and Bottoms must obey it.

Grady isn’t the only Georgian whose past racial positions have come under fire. Richard B. Russell is another. Russell served as Georgia governor before serving in the U.S. Senate for 33 years. Things named in his honor include an airport, some highways and roads, a dam and a federal court building. There are also a few Russell statues around the state.

Russell is best known for his strength on national defense. He’s also known for his opposition to civil rights, a stance that’s brought Russell in the cross-hairs of those who want to link today’s conventions with yesteryear’s social mores.

 Should Georgia apologize for its participation in slavery, an institution that ended 154 years ago? Should statues and monuments of people who made racial comments years ago be removed? Will today’s conventions bury yesteryear’s social mores?

 The battle rages, and there’s no end in sight.

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