The peace monument in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park: four dates and a funeral for racial justice

By Marc Merlin  2016

Until recently, I had never paid much attention to this monument at the 14th Street entrance to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park.

It is a larger-than-life sculpture that portrays an Angel of Peace stilling the hand of a Confederate soldier about to fire his rifle. It bears the title “Cease Firing – Peace Proclaimed.”

I had always assumed that it was not much more than a conventional memorial to the end of the Civil War, that was until I took a closer look at the plaque on its side. Depending upon your point of view, either God or the Devil lives in the details. In the case of this monument, I think that a convincing argument can be made for the latter.  FOR MORE