The first meeting of the city’s new confederate memorial advisory committee was held Wednesday.
Following up on a promise he made several weeks ago as first reported by 11Alive, Mayor Kasim Reed named the committee members last week.
The 11-member committee will review street names and identify city-owned monuments linked to the Confederacy, will evaluate each street name and marker and recommend how the community can be involved in their handling.
Reed first said he was forming the committee back in August after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent.
“The tragic events in Charlottesville 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," Reed said Friday. "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 advisors to consider each marker."
During last week's 11Alive Mayoral Forum, candidates were asked their opinion about renaming Confederate-named streets and removing those monuments. You can hear their responses below.
The first meeting, mostly about logistics and planning, was held at Atlanta City Hall Wednesday night and was closed to the public. However, there are another three meetings slated, two of which will be open for public comment.
11Alive's Faith Abubey was at the meeting and spoke to one citizen, who said he was hopeful about the process.
"This is a conversation about who we are as nation," he said. "This is our story, this is not simply stone or words on a rock. This is our story, and how we tell our story is very, very, very important. And we need to be very careful and let better judgment prevail rather than emotion."
Mayor Reed said he expects a full report from the committee on his desk by November 20.
