Community Corner
Street Named After Family With KKK Ties May Be Renamed
The city council will vote on the renaming of a street from a KKK-friendly family to a mother and daughter considered pillars in town.
STONE MOUNTAIN, GA — The City of Stone Mountain may change the name of a road in town named after a family with strong ties to the Ku Klux Klan. The mayor and city council are holding a vote in November, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
According to the AJC, Venable Street is named after the Venable family, who owned Stone Mountain and used it for a granite quarry. The family gave the KKK permission to meet at the mountain.
When the Venable family sold the mountain to the state in the 1950s, the AJC reported, it was designated as a memorial to the Confederacy.
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The proposal is to rename the street to Eva Mamie Lane after Eva Jewell Greene and her daughter Mamie Ella.
The two played a major role in Stone Mountain, the AJC said, "known for their outreach efforts, the leadership-based organizations they founded and the charity they provided to those in need."
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The city held a public hearing on Oct. 15 to draw public comment, and the city council will vote on Nov. 7.
See the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for more.
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