FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Officials in Fayette County have tabled a plan that would have recognized April as Confederate History Month.
The move comes after a group of Fayette County residents urged commissioners to reconsider the plan.
The group of roughly 14 residents sent a joint letter to the commission on Monday claiming the county's proposed proclamation naming April Confederate History Month "whitewashes history by omitting any mention of slavery as a cause of the Civil War."
The proclamation also names April 26 as Confederate Memorial Day and claims it's meant to honor 1,000 men from Fayette County who "fought underscored their belief in rights guaranteed by the Constitution." It adds that 379 of those men died.
The document goes on to say that "the Sons of Confederate Veterans are preserving the history and legacy of the men and women who both lived and died during the Civil War so that future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause."
However, opponents to the proclamation disagree with how the war is framed in it.
"The Sons of Confederate Veterans has every right to debate the accepted history of the Civil War, but our county government should not take sides in that debate," the letter states.
It also refers back to a similar proclamation that appeared before a Griffin, Georgia commission just weeks before.
"It sparked divisions within the community," the letter states.
During that meeting, a white former commissioner spoke and used the n-word three times to describe where he grew up. The recorded meeting was published on YouTube and led to backlash from around the country. The city ultimately rescinded the proclamation days later and apologized for how it was handled.
The Fayette County group brought attention to this while also pointing out that a Neo-Nazi rally had just happened just days before in neighboring Coweta County.
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"If, just days later, Fayette County issued a proclamation that praises the history of the Confederacy without condemning -- or even mentioning -- the racism that motived the Confederacy, it will send a horrible message about our values," the residents' letter stated. "It will also unnecessarily divide our community at a time when we should be united."
The item was the first on the county's agenda for its regular meeting on Tuesday – which was held at 4 p.m. Two hours before the meeting at 2 p.m., the county's Democratic committee planned to host an interfaith rally against the proclamation.
