Former Macon mayor wants Confederate statues removed from public property

When former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis took office in 1999, the first thing he did was remove the state flag -- which then bore the Confederate battle emblem -- from behind his desk.

“I didn’t want to be photographed with it,” said Ellis, who served from 1999-2007 as Macon’s first black mayor.

Now, after a wave of Southern communities removing rebel flags and other memorials to the Confederacy, Ellis wants Confederate memorial statues to be moved off public property and placed instead in a museum or cemetery.

The removal of the flags and other cities have come in the wake of the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where gunman Dylann Roof, 21, is accused of shooting to death nine black members of the church last week. Roof, who was quickly arrested, had a history of posting racist materials on the Internet.

Over the past week, several Southern states have removed or are in the process of removing Confederate symbols from public spaces.

“People might ask, ‘Why now?’ I sat on the back of the bus for 17 years,” Ellis said Thursday. “We said it’s not good and we’re not doing it this way anymore. It’s time to stop accepting things as the way they are.”

Ellis said he hasn’t spoken with any public officials about his plan, nor does he have an inventory of how many Confederate monuments there are in Macon. He also said he didn’t know how much it would cost to move a statue, but said he hopes local foundations might help out.

Ellis said he understands that some white residents have defended Confederate symbols as representing heritage, not hate.

“I’ve heard that all my life,” he said. “I knew what the flag represented; I know what the Confederacy was about.”

Two notable markers to the Confederacy in Macon are the statue at the intersection of Second Street and Cotton Avenue honoring soldiers who fought for the South and a statue on Poplar Street honoring the wives, mothers and daughters of those soldiers.

In addition to moving those statues, Ellis said he’d like streets such as Jefferson Davis Street to be renamed.

“I view Jefferson Davis the same way Jews view Hitler,” Ellis said.

Ellis said he would like to see new markers placed across the city noting its role in slavery. For example, he’d like a marker on Poplar Street that lets people know there was a slave market there before the Civil War.

Also, when Ellis was mayor and refurbishing Terminal Station, he left in place various markers noting the presence of “colored” signs that once segregated blacks and whites.

Ellis said he supports keeping those markers to remember the victims of slavery and racial intolerance, but he said he doesn’t understand why there are so many markers commemorating the Confederacy since it lost the Civil War.

Ellis said he doesn’t want to remove any markers for historic places, such as Civil War battlefields, for example. Instead, he wants to focus on removing symbols that specifically celebrate the Confederacy.

DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert said he hasn’t spoken to Ellis about the issue, but he said that he views monuments and statues in a different category than the Confederate battle flag. Reichert said he voted to change Georgia’s flag when he was a state legislator in 2001.

“I hope everyone in this debate is looking at this as a way of pulling us together and not tearing us apart,” he said. “I voted to change the flag, because I thought it was the right thing to do to unify the people of Georgia and not send a mixed message.”

Reichert said the rebel flag has often been used by hate groups as a symbol, making it difficult to distinguish between a message of hate and one of heritage.

“I’m not sure that memorials and monuments that were built to honor courage and loyalty, they’re not in the same category as the other symbols that have been appropriated by hate groups,” Reichert said.

Communities in the North and South have monuments to fallen soldiers and removing them could be a slippery slope, he said.

Some members of the community had mixed feelings about Ellis’ announcement.

Former Bibb County Commissioner Joe Allen said he disagrees with the idea of moving the statues.

The statues are a part of the city’s history, and it’s important to acknowledge it, Allen said. He compared Ellis’ idea to Nazis burning books and other acts to wipe out the cultural identity of German Jews.

“To me, it’s a part of history, and you don’t destroy history,” Allen said. “You leave it up there as a symbol of the past, but you don’t want to go back to a past of hatred. ... (Ellis) wants to wipe away everything that was a miscarriage of justice to black America.”

Andrew Manis, a professor of history at Middle Georgia State College and an expert on the civil rights movement, said that while he agrees in principle with Ellis’ idea, he doesn’t think enough people would agree to move the monuments. Instead, he suggested attaching plaques to the monuments that explain the ideas behind the Confederacy.

“If the flag stands for the Confederacy, then you have to ask what the Confederacy stands for,” Manis said. “There’s hate involved in that heritage. If it’s on public grounds paid for by the taxpayer, then (a monument) ought to be removed. But I don’t see many politicians running to the issue. My wish is that we be honest what the Confederacy stood for. Sometimes people die for beliefs that are wrong.”

Reichert said he liked the idea of putting additional plaques on the monuments to make it easier to teach history.

“The memorials and monuments can be a teaching moment to remind us that confrontation, violence and war should be last resorts because of the heavy toll they take, one that involves everybody.”

Jim Sandefur, a Lizella resident and Civil War aficionado, said the idea of moving monuments is a tough call. Sandefur said his great-grandfather was a corporal who fought for the South, but added that he thinks “the South fought for one of the worst causes that has ever been fought for.”

“They fought for the right to preserve slavery,” he said. “The aristocracy exploited everyone else. They wanted to preserve their status by preserving slavery.”

On the other hand, Sandefur said, he understands that people want to honor their ancestors who fought for their homeland.

“I’m torn by it,” he said. “I can see Ellis’ side. ... The problem is everybody has a different slant on the Civil War.”

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Former Macon mayor wants Confederate statues removed from public property ."