Beltline/ Politics

Mayor Kasim Reed launches ‘advisory committee’ on Confederate monuments

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Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

Mayor Kasim Reed has announced the formation of an advisory committee that will study Confederate monuments in the city and determine whether any changes are necessary.

A press release from the city says, “The committee members will evaluate each street name and marker and recommend how the community can be involved in the process to determine the handling of each landmark.”

Debate about the appropriateness of such monuments has been ongoing since three people died during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. over the summer.

“The tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia brought renewed attention to Confederate markers and street names around the country, with many elected officials, clergy and members of the public calling for their removal. To ensure that we approach this in a thoughtful manner, and that we include community input in the process, my Administration and the Atlanta City Council worked to assemble a group of advisers to consider each marker,” Reed said in the press release.  “The members of the committee will convene for the first time and initiate the review process.”

The committee members are:

  • Sheffield Hale, President and CEO, Atlanta History Center;

  • Derreck Kayongo, CEO, Center for Civil and Human Rights;

  • Sonji Jacobs Dade, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, Cox Enterprises;

  • Dan Moore, Founder, APEX Museum;

  • Shelley Rose, Senior Associate Director, Southeast Region, Anti-Defamation League;

  • Larry Gallerstedt, CEO, Cousins Properties; Trustee, Robert Woodruff Foundation;

  • Douglas Blackmon, Senior Fellow and Director of Public Programs, University of Virginia’s Miller Center; Pulitzer Prize-winning author;

  • Nina Gentry, Owner, Gentry Planning Services;

  • Regina Brewer, preservation consultant;

  • Martha Porter Hall, community advocate;

  • Brenda Muhammad, Executive Director, Atlanta Victim Assistance.

The committee will hold its first meeting at City Hall on Oct. 18 at  6 p.m. in Committee Room 2, second floor. Atlanta City Hall is located at 68 Mitchell St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303.

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