In Dalton, protesters, counter-protesters clash over statue
Even though the Joseph E. Johnston Confederate statue wasn’t the reason for the march, it was at the center of everyone’s attention Saturday night in Dalton, Georgia, as protesters and counter-protesters shared heated moments during the latest demonstration in Whitfield County.
More than 30 people marched in Dalton to honor the life of A.L. McCamy, a black man who was lynched and hanged by a mob of more than 150 men in the city in 1936.
Rashun Mack, a Dalton native and the Northwest Georgia leader of a new activist organization called the Southern Advocacy Group, organized Saturday’s march as well as the city’s first march on June 1.
Before the march, Mack said it was his goal to offer people a form of empowerment and a way for them to exercise their First Amendment rights.
He did notice a difference between organizing Saturday’s march as opposed to the one earlier this month. Mack said since the Facebook group called “Don’t Let Joe Go” was created this week, he’s noticed some intense backlash from a group of people who want to see the Confederate statue left alone. He said a lot of people were deterred from coming out to march because of it.
“That intimidated a lot of people,” Mack said. “We’re still out here and I’m proud of everyone who came out here anyways. They showed a lot of courage.”
The Facebook page was created after a group of young activists from Dalton started a petition to relocate the Johnston statue that has been downtown since 1912.
The group wants — among many things — to move the statue to a place that would better contextualize its history and significance.
After seeing some of the racially insensitive posts and comments on the Facebook page — which has since gone private — Mack said he felt like it was an “unmasking” of sorts for the community he grew up in.
“Growing up in Whitfield County you know these things but it’s not talked about openly,” he said. “You see these people coming out with all this hateful rhetoric, not even about the statue but about black people and Hispanics in general, I think it woke a lot of people up. Maybe that statue is emboldening these people.”
The march group of 30 took a brief walk around downtown Dalton that eventually ended at the Johnston statue, where between 40 and 50 counter-protesters were posted with a handful of Confederate flags and two Trump flags.
Police had to get in the middle of the two groups at least three times when protesters walked across the street to film the counterprotesters.
Standing at the foot of the Johnston statue, counter-protesters chanted things like, “All Lives Matter,” “Our Heritage, Our Town,” and “Biden Babies.”
One counter-protester screamed in a black woman’s face, called her “food stamp” and yelled at her to “get a job.”
Police quickly stepped into the skirmish and tried their best to keep people out of the street and onto sidewalks.
Protesters yelled about Colin Kaepernick, the racism of the Confederate Army and knelt in the street and sidewalk facing the counterprotesters.
Counter-protesters yelled at the protesters to “go back to Atlanta” and accused them of being paid to march.
The dueling protests lasted only about 45 minutes before both crowds slowly broke apart without any serious incidents.
On Friday, the owners of the Johnston statue said the group is open to relocating it amid nationwide protests and calls to remove and relocate other Confederate statues.