KENNESAW, Ga. — City officials in Kennesaw are defending a controversial decision to allow a decades-old shop on Main Street to stay in business - a shop selling racist relics and Confederate merchandise.
A council member resigned in protest, and other critics vowed to fight the decision.
“Wildman’s Civil War Surplus” has been a fixture in Kennesaw for decades. Many residents are way past being embarrassed.
Products displaying the N-word, caricatures of African Americans and other racist merchandise are for sale, along with civil war history books, souvenirs and more.
The original owner died in January after having the store open for over 50 years; now, his colleague of 35 years, Marjorie Lyon, has taken over the shop, proudly and defiantly.
“This is his legacy,” Lyon said Wednesday afternoon. “Preserving history. His legacy needs to continue. People can’t handle the truth. If you don’t like it, don’t come in.”
The City of Kennesaw just issued a business license to Lyon, saying she is up to code and can keep the shop open.
Councilmember James “Doc” Eaton resigned in protest halfway through his second, four-year term, telling 11Alive on Wednesday, “I could no longer stay in a system that could allow a store full of hate to remain on our Main Street.”
Eaton wrote in his resignation letter to the city that his resignation would take effect on June 21.
“It is with heavy heart that I am stepping down,” he wrote. “As a community, I know we are better than this. As leaders, we are better than this. I want to set the example for my grandchildren that silence on issues that matter is agreement and not a sign of true leadership.”
City Manager Dr. Jeff Drobney said the City conducted on-site inspections and that Lyon addressed all issues necessary to obtain her business license and certificate of occupancy.
“It’s approved,” Dr. Drobney said at a news conference Wednesday. “It’s a legal business. And they have the right to operate within the city of Kennesaw. We don’t pick and choose; we do not take sides.”
“There’s a difference between what’s legal and what’s right,” Eaton said.
His chiropractic shop, now run by his daughter, Cris Welsh, was located across the street from the shop before she decided to move. Welsh said the city regulates where vape shops and other businesses are, so she can’t understand how a shop like “Wildman’s” can still be approved for Main Street.
“Yes, First Amendment, she (Lyon) has absolutely got a right to run her business,” Welsh said. “But to put a business like that, where a child walks into, and then his dad has to talk to that kid after they leave, that’s the bigger problem. What’s happening in that shop is not history; it’s hate.”
Welsh questions whether the city inspected the business and building thoroughly before re-issuing a business license, despite the city's documentation available to the public. She and other opponents are reviewing the city’s inspection and approval process in this case and continue to fight.