Should Georgia make April Confederate History Month?

ATLANTA — A state lawmaker wants to denote April as Confederate History Month and April 26, 2017, as Confederate Memorial Day under a newly filed state House resolution.

State Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson, filed House Resolution 644 last week. The measure has little to no chance of passing this legislative session.

In the resolution, Benton name drops Dr. John Stith Pemberton, who rose to the rank of colonel in the Confederate Army and later went on to create Coca-Cola.

“Georgia joined the Confederacy after the convention ratified the Ordinance of  Secession in January, 1861, and Georgia has long cherished her Confederate history and the people who made sacrifices on her behalf,” the resolution reads.

Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, in 2015 renamed Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee’s birthday as generic state holidays.

State Reps. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell; Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah; and Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga, signed on as co-sponsors.

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