COMMUNITY
Bar , have ignored what Confederate symbols mean to Black people .
Black people have to navigate symbols that are deeply hurtful simply to enjoy a park or get to the doors of the courthouse , while white people have the privilege of simply ignoring the same symbols . Compounding this problem is the ubiquitous adoption of Confederate symbols by modern day white supremacists . So Confederate symbols evoke feelings of terror from the past and present .
Continuing to allow symbols in front of the courthouse that suggest our justice system is biased and stacked against a person of a certain race or color inevitably erodes faith and confidence in our judicial system . And that is both unacceptable and completely fixable .
Bottom line - the credibility of the judicial system is diminished when Confederate monuments are present around courthouses .
Judge Seeliger : We must educate ourselves about the history of these monuments . These monuments were built much after the war , in a time of Jim Crow . After the Plessy v . Ferguson ruling by the U . S . Supreme Court in 1896 that authorized segregation with separate but equal facilities , the South took it to heart . The vast majority of Confederate monuments in front of Georgia courthouses were built from 1898 to 1910 , long after the Civil War had ended .
Dennis Collard : People need to be shocked by these monuments . And if we ' re not shocked , we ' re not paying attention . And that ’ s the problem .
One of the challenges we face is educating everyone , on all sides of this issue , about the true origin of the Confederate symbols around our state . Many were installed in the 1950 ’ s , as a politically calculated repudiation of the civil rights movement .
And they ’ re in places that have absolutely nothing to do with the Civil War . Rather , they were strategically placed in prominent public places ( like courthouse grounds and town squares ) to send a message in opposition to civil rights advances .
One only need to connect the dots between white supremacists of the Civil War era and Jim Crow era white supremacists . They all use the same language . It ’ s in the “ record ,” and it ’ s all one long continuum of white supremacy - not about “ heritage ,” and not about “ states ’ rights .” The alternate history “ Lost Cause ” mythology , that some use to support the existence of these symbols , has been debunked .
Georgia still has at least 200 public spaces with Confederate monuments , and about 60 of those are in front of courthouses . Removing these monuments is complicated by certain provisions of Georgia law that purport to “ protect ” them . But there are rarely cited exceptions . For example , regarding the broadly defined terms “ monument ” and “ memorial ,” Georgia law provides that “ appropriate measures for the preservation , protection , and interpretation . . . shall not be prohibited .”
The term “ interpretation ” has been embraced by activists around the state who argue that existing law allows for “ monuments ” to be moved into museums , where the truth of them can be properly explained , or where they can be “ protected .” And , as you know Judge Seeliger , some monuments have been removed as nuisances , while others have been removed by simple vote of local governments .
It is unconscionable that a Black person or any person of color entering a courthouse seeking equal justice under the law should have to walk by a monument that is inexorably associated with racial prejudice and cruelty , and I believe that we as lawyers have an obligation to use the laws we have , and to advocate for new laws , that will allow us to remove Confederate symbols from public spaces .
In the midst of our long overdue national reckoning about racism , it is time to remove symbols of hate that were placed to frighten and intimidate Black people then , and still do today .
Judge Seeliger : I have some history with this issue that might be informative . When I removed the Confederate flag from my courtroom in 1981 , I received hundreds of letters and death threats . My wife took menacing calls at home , and we were worried for our safety .
In 2020 , when I ordered the removal of the Confederate monument in front of the Decatur courthouse , after petitions filed by the City of Decatur and DeKalb County , I received only three letters . This represents a positive shift in our society .
I add my voice to Dennis Collard ’ s to call for the Bar to take action – to consider these monuments ’ history and to find a course of action that improves our justice system .
Judge Clarence Seeliger served in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1967 , earning the rank of captain . He earned his law degree from Emory University Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1970 . His practice areas included fighting for civil rights and against domestic violence . He became a State Court judge in 1980 and later a Superior Court judge . He retired in 2020 .
Dennis G . Collard is a family law attorney and mediator in private practice in Atlanta . Dennis served as a police officer before earning his law degree from the Florida State University College of Law . Dennis is a founding member of the Stone Mountain Action Coalition , whose goal is to make Stone Mountain Park a welcoming place for all Georgians .
www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 19