Former Macon mayor calls for the removal of confederate monument

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis is calling on local leaders to remove the Confederate Monument in downtown Macon.

The monument is at the intersection of Second Street and Cotton Avenue. Ellis wrote a letter to Mayor Robert Reichert and the commissioners. He says he sent it to them Monday afternoon.

Ellis is calling on the statue’s removal “in light of the racial reconciliation and social awakening as to how we as a nation, region and indeed a city, can move forward.” He adds we must unite in the aftermath of the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ellis wrote the statue shouldn’t be located in “our urban core our city center.” He adds “it is not the place to show respect or remembrance.”  The former mayor believes the monument should be moved to a private museum, such as the Cannonball House or the burial grounds for fallen Confederate soldiers in Rose Hill Cemetery.

“In my opinion this statue and what it represents is offensive to the majority of our citizens in Macon-Bibb, who happen to be African-Americans and the descendants of enslaved Africans,” Ellis wrote.

41NBC reached out to Reichert’s office and we’re still waiting on a comment. We also reached out to the commissioners, who either didn’t answer our calls or have not read the letter.

Read Ellis’ full letter below:

June 29, 2015

 

City of Macon-Bibb County

Attn: Robert Reichert, Mayor

700 Poplar Street

Macon, Georgia 31201

CC: Macon-Bibb Commissioners; Bert Bivens III, Gary Bechtel, Larry Sclesinger, Elaine Lucas, Mallory Jones III, Ed Defore, W.F. “Scotty” Shepherd, Virgil Watkins Jr., Al Tillman.

 

Dear Mayor Reichert et al:

I hope these greetings find you in the best of health. As former Mayor of Macon, I love and care deeply about the future of our city and its people, as do you. I write you in the spirit of truth and unity, in light of the racial reconciliation and social awakening as to how we as a nation, region and indeed a city, can move forward. We should be united in the aftermath of the hateful and horrific senseless murder of our fellow Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, only two weeks ago.

I’m calling upon you and the governing authority of Macon-Bibb County to remove the Confederate Monument statue located at the intersection of Second Street and Cotton Avenue in Downtown Macon. Second Street is a street you have designated as your signature project to continue downtown revitalization began during my administration.

The statue was purported to have been placed to pay tribute to Confederate soldiers from Macon, who fought a losing cause of dividing our country along racial lines. The time is now to have it removed and relocated to a private museum. The Cannonball House comes to mind or maybe the burial grounds for fallen Confederate soldiers in Rose Hill Cemetery. I think both locations would be a fitting place for such a statue. I don’t believe anyone of goodwill would desecrate these burial grounds.

I am not suggesting the memory of those who fought in an ill conceived and losing war shouldn’t be remembered by their descendants.  I believe, as do countless other African Americans and other people of goodwill, that such permanent place in our urban core our city center, is not the place to show respect or remembrance.

Mr. Mayor, I recall attending your first inauguration in December of 2007. At this gathering, you stated you were truly sorry you sat on the wrong side of history during the Civil Rights Movement in Macon in the 60’s and 70’s. This was a time when your fellow Maconites of African decent as well as others, were struggling for their civil rights and the right to vote in our city and across the nation.

Although you were on the wrong side of history then, you are forgiven as you sought forgiveness during your speech. Now once again, you have an opportunity to stand on the right side of history and remove this statue from our City Center.

I’m calling upon you to exercise the leadership necessary to make this happen. In my opinion this statue and what it represents is offensive to the majority of our citizens in Macon-Bibb, who happen to be African-Americans and the descendants of enslaved Africans.

I stand ready to assist you in this most important endeavor and to work to close any racial and social divides existing in our city.

 

Sincerely yours for an inclusive, progressive, prosperous Macon-Bibb Georgia,

 

 

C. Jack Ellis

Former Mayor, Macon Georgia