Abstract
ABSTRACT There has been a rise in far-right extremism (FRE) globally, with a related rise in white nationalist and white supremacist violence. In all this, places connected to white supremacist violence remain less well-studied. This article reflects upon the politics of commemoration at the largest Confederate memorial in the world, Stone Mountain, Georgia in the United States. We analyse visitor reviews on TripAdvisor and YouTube videos about commemorative events to illustrate how visitors to Stone Mountain erase its and, more broadly, the United States’ history of white supremacy. Instead, there are claims that this is a tourist site, a place for leisure where violence and politics have no place. Such claims evade the issue of white supremacist violence that was foundational to the Confederate cause and to the production and development of memorials like Stone Mountain. Such erasure means understandings of “violent extremism” in the United States – wherein events like the Confederacy and its aftermath in relation to racial injustices are not discussed – is limited and incomplete. This article argues that before debating what is or is not “violent extremism”, this history of white supremacist violence needs to be reckoned with, especially regarding its presence and its traces on the landscape.
Published Version
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