New billboard presses for removal of Confederate monument from Georgia capitol lawn

By Josh Morgan

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    ATLANTA (WGCL) — The Southern Poverty Law Center put up a new billboard Monday in support of efforts to remove Confederate symbols from public spaces.

The new billboard is located at the Langford/I-85/75 split heading into Atlanta from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

There has been an ongoing push to have the John B. Gordon statue removed. The statue, which has stood on capitol grounds since 1907, commemorates the former governor of Georgia, and Confederate general, who was believed to have been a leader of the KKK.

“This billboard is being raised in support of metro Atlanta’s ongoing efforts to remove symbols of white supremacy by grassroots groups like the Stone Mountain Action Coalition,” said SPLC Chief of Staff, Lecia Brooks.

In 2019, Georgia passed Senate Bill 77, which prohibits the removal of monuments of Confederate War leaders.

According to the SPLC, seven Confederate symbols were removed from Georgia’s public spaces in 2020. So far this year, one statue has been removed and one statue was relocated. Three symbols are pending removal or renaming across the state.

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