Civil Rights Leaders Meet with Governor about MLK Memorial

ATLANTA - A small group of Civil Rights leaders took their concerns about a proposed memorial to the State Capitol Wednesday. 

Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Charles Steele along with Atlanta NAACP President Richard Rose and DeKalb NAACP President John Evans met with Governor Nathan Deal for about an hour.

The three men oppose a plan by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association to add a bell tower to the top of Stone Mountain in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  They believe it would be wrong to use King's name or image at the site of a Confederate Memorial.  A carving on the face of Stone Mountain features three Confederate generals. 

"If they strip that stone of them buzzards that are on there now and put him up there, that would be fine," said Evans.  "But [...] getting anything together-that would never fly in the Civil Rights community."

The Civil Rights leaders said Governor Deal was receptive to their concerns, but he did not plan the memorial.  They hope he will pass their concerns along to leaders at Stone Mountain. 

They also plan to push for the removal of the carving on Stone Mountain. 

"At this particular time, we don't think he has the power himself, but he has the influence," said Steele.