STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. _ At the base of Georgia's most popular tourist attraction sits a small town with the same name. As one boasts a theme park and hiking trails, the other has fallen victim to a troubling reputation, residents and local leaders say.
In the majority-black city of Stone Mountain, many have grown increasingly worried that the mountain's decadeslong connection with racist organizations has tainted the city's chances for growth. The Ku Klux Klan underwent a "rebirth" with a rally at the park in 1915. More recently, rallies by Confederate flag-waving white supremacists and white nationalists have brought unwanted media coverage of tense gatherings and counter-protests.
But according to the city's top administrator, that's emblematic of the "old Stone Mountain."
"When, historically, people think about Stone Mountain Village, it was this place that wasn't really open to outside influences," City Manager ChaQuias Miller-Thornton said. "We're beyond that. We don't want that to continue to be our narrative."
As several storefronts in downtown Stone Mountain sit vacant, the city and its residents are working to rebrand and create a new identity _ one that can distance the city from what many describe as a "stigma" attached to the Stone Mountain name and history.
To help with the effort, the city invited in the Georgia Tourism Product Development Team, which spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting the town. City officials hope the tourism office will help the city attract new businesses and visitors, developing its image as an inclusive, diverse community.
Some "don't actually know that our largest population is African American, because that's not been the voice," Miller-Thornton said, noting that the city is about 70% black.
