Rally to remove Confederate statues set for Wednesday, C. Jack Ellis says

A rally to remove Confederate statues from downtown Macon will be held in the park named after civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

Former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis said the rally will start at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Rosa Parks Square. Among those scheduled to attend will be African Methodist Episcopal ministers, including Bishop Reginald T. Jackson — the prelate for more than 500 AME churches in Georgia, Ellis confirmed Monday.

The former mayor has been outspoken in recent years about why Confederate monuments should be moved to more appropriate places such as Rose Hill Cemetery.

Two prominent Confederate monuments are in downtown Macon.

An unnamed Confederate soldier statue stands at at the corner of Cotton Avenue and Second Street. Another monument honoring the wives, mothers and daughters of Confederate soldiers is located on Poplar Street — just a stone’s throw from Rosa Parks Square and the Macon-Bibb County Government Center.

Georgia law prohibits the removal or relocation of Confederate memorials located on public property, and several Macon-Bibb commissioners said earlier this month that the community has more pressing concerns to deal with.

Confederate monuments and markers have been taken down from public spaces across in the nation in the wake of violence surrounding the Charlottesville, Virginia, white supremacist march.

This story was originally published August 28, 2017 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Rally to remove Confederate statues set for Wednesday, C. Jack Ellis says."