Venture into Stone Mountain Park — the most-visited tourist site in Georgia — and you’ll get a closer glimpse of the face of the mountain, upon which Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. …
Nneka M. Okona | for the Chicago Tribune
This rock meant something else before the reborn Ku Klux Klan set a cross ablaze on the summit in 1915 the night of Thanksgiving, reigniting its agenda to sow seeds of violence, destruction, bigotry and discord. It became a sacred place to many Klansmen, who owned the land and asatop the mount. When Georgia took over the park in 1958, the Klan’s ties to the rock were officially severed. But the stain of what had already been done — the degradation and unfettered hatred — was cemented.
Life in the suburbs of Atlanta crawls. Leaf blowers and lawn mowers compete for attention in a cacophonous chorus early on weekend mornings and evenings as dusk settles into the skies, urging crickets to screech their allegiance to darkness. As a child, I plotted my way out of this home, promising myself that when I finally left, I would not look back. I would not return. I would not fight to be rooted where it all began.
People like me, a Black woman from Stone Mountain, don’t feel the need to reflect upon the gruesome history. But we know it intimately, without blinking and without hesitation. Throughout my youth, what lined Main Street was forgettable. Stone Mountain Village was not somewhere most folk, residents or not, wanted to spend any extended amount of time. I remember a funnel cake restaurant and a pizza joint with decent slices. I always wondered what it could be if someone cared enough, and in recent years I’ve had the honor of watching that potential unfold, with Black entrepreneurs leading the way.
“Given the area’s history and that a Black woman-owned business was not welcomed during that time, being a part of its revitalization is important to me,” she said. “I want to help others experience the same nostalgia and connection to the community that I have.”
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