SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Anti-racist and anti-facist protesters organized by F.L.O.W.E.R, a frontline organization based in Atlanta to combat racism, face off against far right militias and white pride organizations near Stone Mountain Park in downtown Stone Mountain, Georgia on August 15, 2020. (Photo: Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)
'Go Home, Racists!': BLM Counterprotesters Shout Down White Nationalists in Stone Mountain, Georgia
"Hundreds of workers from across Georgia took a stand against racism and won."
Aug 15, 2020
Racial justice advocates on Saturday shouted down white nationalists gathered in the town of Stone Mountain, Georgia, where the groups faced off for a number of hours.
The city of Stone Mountain said Friday that the park--which features the world's biggest Confederate monument--would be closed Saturday, and urged people to stay out of the downtown area out of "abundance of caution."
According to the Associated Press, "right-wing groups led by an Arkansas group called Confederate States III% had applied for a permit to hold a rally in Stone Mountain Park," but the permit was denied, leading the demonstrators to take to the city's streets.
Atlanta's WXIA reported on the action:
The opposing groups were loosely organized on both sides. The white nationalist demonstrators, who appeared to be far outnumbered, were seemingly composed of neo-Confederates and militia groups like the III% Security Force.
The number of protesters swelled at one point 500, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. "Militia groups from Arkansas and Florida have joined those from Georgia, but remain greatly outnumbered by counterprotesters from the left," the newspaper noted.
The metro Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialsts of America called it an "overwhelming victory at Stone Mountain today, where the fascist right was scattered and run off."
Among those organizing the counterprotest was FrontLine Organization Working to End Racism. The group said on its Facebook page Saturday that the time for the Stone Mountain cared monument to be removed is long ovedue.
"We would like to thank the racists for bringing lots of Confederate flags for people to seize and burn, so many that people on Twitter are making jokes about 'Six Flags Burned Over Georgia,'" the group wrote.
"While this pathetic showing should discourage them from showing up again for a while, as long as the carving still defaces the side of the mountain, these invasions are going to keep happening," the group added. "It needs to come down. The time is long past to #sandblaststonemountain."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Racial justice advocates on Saturday shouted down white nationalists gathered in the town of Stone Mountain, Georgia, where the groups faced off for a number of hours.
The city of Stone Mountain said Friday that the park--which features the world's biggest Confederate monument--would be closed Saturday, and urged people to stay out of the downtown area out of "abundance of caution."
According to the Associated Press, "right-wing groups led by an Arkansas group called Confederate States III% had applied for a permit to hold a rally in Stone Mountain Park," but the permit was denied, leading the demonstrators to take to the city's streets.
Atlanta's WXIA reported on the action:
The opposing groups were loosely organized on both sides. The white nationalist demonstrators, who appeared to be far outnumbered, were seemingly composed of neo-Confederates and militia groups like the III% Security Force.
The number of protesters swelled at one point 500, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. "Militia groups from Arkansas and Florida have joined those from Georgia, but remain greatly outnumbered by counterprotesters from the left," the newspaper noted.
The metro Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialsts of America called it an "overwhelming victory at Stone Mountain today, where the fascist right was scattered and run off."
Among those organizing the counterprotest was FrontLine Organization Working to End Racism. The group said on its Facebook page Saturday that the time for the Stone Mountain cared monument to be removed is long ovedue.
"We would like to thank the racists for bringing lots of Confederate flags for people to seize and burn, so many that people on Twitter are making jokes about 'Six Flags Burned Over Georgia,'" the group wrote.
"While this pathetic showing should discourage them from showing up again for a while, as long as the carving still defaces the side of the mountain, these invasions are going to keep happening," the group added. "It needs to come down. The time is long past to #sandblaststonemountain."
Racial justice advocates on Saturday shouted down white nationalists gathered in the town of Stone Mountain, Georgia, where the groups faced off for a number of hours.
The city of Stone Mountain said Friday that the park--which features the world's biggest Confederate monument--would be closed Saturday, and urged people to stay out of the downtown area out of "abundance of caution."
According to the Associated Press, "right-wing groups led by an Arkansas group called Confederate States III% had applied for a permit to hold a rally in Stone Mountain Park," but the permit was denied, leading the demonstrators to take to the city's streets.
Atlanta's WXIA reported on the action:
The opposing groups were loosely organized on both sides. The white nationalist demonstrators, who appeared to be far outnumbered, were seemingly composed of neo-Confederates and militia groups like the III% Security Force.
The number of protesters swelled at one point 500, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. "Militia groups from Arkansas and Florida have joined those from Georgia, but remain greatly outnumbered by counterprotesters from the left," the newspaper noted.
The metro Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialsts of America called it an "overwhelming victory at Stone Mountain today, where the fascist right was scattered and run off."
Among those organizing the counterprotest was FrontLine Organization Working to End Racism. The group said on its Facebook page Saturday that the time for the Stone Mountain cared monument to be removed is long ovedue.
"We would like to thank the racists for bringing lots of Confederate flags for people to seize and burn, so many that people on Twitter are making jokes about 'Six Flags Burned Over Georgia,'" the group wrote.
"While this pathetic showing should discourage them from showing up again for a while, as long as the carving still defaces the side of the mountain, these invasions are going to keep happening," the group added. "It needs to come down. The time is long past to #sandblaststonemountain."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.