An inscription on the Confederate monument in Decatur. Photo by Erik Voss

This story has been updated.  

Hate Free Decatur and the NAACP will host a rally on Sunday against the Confederate monument in the Decatur Square.

There will be a press conference about the event on Wednesday, Sept. 6, that begins at 2 p.m. and will conclude at 2:30 p.m. The monument is located at the old courthouse, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur, GA 30030. The event is co-hosted by the Beacon Hill NAACP, Create Community 4 Decatur: Black Lives Matter, DeKalb NAACP, Atlanta NAACP, Oakhurst Presbyterian, Hate Free Decatur and the Georgia Alliance for Social Justice.

The Sept. 10 march will begin at 6 p.m. at the Beacon Municipal Plaza 105 Electric Ave. For more details about that event, click here.

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Speakers will include Sara Patenaude, Co-Founder Hate Free Decatur, Mawuli Davis, with the Beacon Hill NAACP and Teresa Hardy, with the DeKalb County NAACP.

The future of the monument has been hotly debated since a recent violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va that resulted in the deaths of three people. The monument is in the city of Decatur but is owned by the county. It was constructed in front of the old courthouse in 1908. Historians who have weighed in on the matter in letters to Decaturish agree that its context was more about the reinforcement of  black subjugation than about remembering veterans.

Davis, with the Beacon Hill NAACP, recently told Decaturish that his organization supports removal of the monument.

“Our Chapter is in complete support of NAACP State Conference of Georgia’s stance, that all confederate should be removed from public properties,” he said.

A petition to remove the monument has more than 2,000 signatures.  Supporters of the keeping the monument in place have started their own petition and have also gathered more than 2,000 signatures. 

The county is currently exploring its legal options for dealing with the monument.

A committee that includes County CEO Michael Thurmond, County Commission Presiding Officer Kathie Gannon, Commissioner Jeff Rader, Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett and Decatur Commissioner Tony Powers is working to determine the next steps.

Here is a flyer about Wednesday’s press conference:

Hate Free Decatur Press Conference Invitation

Correction: An earlier version of this article confused the press conference about the Sunday march with the march itself. This story has been updated with the correct information. 

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