Georgia Democrats are quietly preparing to resurrect two long-stalled measures aimed at changing Stone Mountain Park's legal status, betting that the 2027 legislative session could offer their best shot in years. State Rep. Billy Mitchell, who represents Stone Mountain, and Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur are leading the effort, backed by the DeKalb County delegation.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one proposed measure would eliminate the state law requiring Stone Mountain Park to maintain a Confederate memorial and instead direct the park to educate the public about the mountain's natural history and environment. The timing follows a legislative session in which Mitchell accepted his party's nomination to become the next speaker pro tempore, as Georgia House Democrats elected leaders for the upcoming session.
The push is not entirely new. Back in 2023, State Rep. Billy Mitchell joined Mary Margaret Oliver and Omari Crawford in introducing House Bill 794, which would have stripped Stone Mountain Park of its official designation as a Confederate Memorial, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. That bill was co-sponsored by all 16 members of the DeKalb County delegation and would have renamed the Stone Mountain Memorial Association the Stone Mountain Park Association.
What the Earlier Bill Would Have Changed
House Bill 794 also sought to remove requirements that the park sell Confederate memorabilia and preserve the mountainside carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, per the FOX 5 Atlanta report. A separate proposal floated in March 2025 would have swapped the existing requirement for “an appropriate and suitable Confederate memorial at Stone Mountain” with a new ordinance educating the public about the mountain's natural history and environment, as reported by CBS News.
A Georgia General Assembly listing for House Bill 243 describes it as an act to amend state law concerning the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and revise the association's purpose.
A Carving That Still Towers Over the Debate
The carving at the center of the decades-long fight depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis and generals Lee and Jackson, CBS News notes. Completed in 1972, it measures 190 feet across and 90 feet tall, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Stone Mountain Park itself spans 3,200 acres and draws more than 4 million visitors every year, per CBS News, making it one of the most visited attractions in Georgia even as its legal obligations remain contested.
An $11 million “Truth Telling” center was slated to open at the park that fall, CBS News reported, though the center's current status was not detailed in that account.
New Leadership Arrives at the Park
The political backdrop is shifting on the management side as well. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association's board appointed Christopher Sanders as its next chief executive officer, a move Gov. Brian Kemp made public Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Sanders, a former executive director of the East Metro Community Improvement District, is set to succeed longtime park chief Bill Stephens when Stephens retires at year's end.
Despite the renewed legislative push, the Confederate legacy debate at Stone Mountain barely registered in Georgia's most recent elections. The AJC's reporting notes that by 2026, Stone Mountain was barely a factor in a campaign that ended with Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the nation's first Black woman elected governor, underscoring how the issue has receded from the statewide political spotlight even as DeKalb lawmakers keep working to change the law from within the Capitol.
