The battle over Confederate monuments continues in Newton County, Georgia - Axios AtlantaLog InLog InAxios Atlanta is an Axios company.

The battle over Confederate monuments continues

Henry County commissioners voted to remove the Confederate monument (pictured above) in 2020. Photo: John Trainor/Wikimedia Commons A Newton County woman's lawsuit objecting to the removal of Confederate monuments from downtown Covington can move forward, the Georgia Supreme Court said in an Tuesday. By the numbers: Georgia is home to 281 buildings, roads, schools and other symbols honoring Confederate soldiers or figures. 110 of those symbols are monuments, . The majority of Confederate monuments were according to , a history professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Catch up quick: Amid national civil unrest and awareness about white supremacy and racism, the Henry County Commission in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue located in McDonough’s courthouse square. Two Sons of Confederate Veterans groups a lawsuit alleging that the county violated a requiring governments that remove Confederate monuments from public spaces to relocate them to a place of “similar‌ ‌prominence,‌ ‌honor,‌ ‌and‌ ‌visibility.”One week later, the groups and resident Tiffany Humphries filed similar lawsuits against Newton County over its plans to remove a statue in the Covington Square. That statue still stands. Meanwhile: The justices upheld a lower court’s dismissal of claims filed by the SVC groups because they failed to show they were community members and therefore lacked standing, the court said. The other side: Attorney Walker Chandler, who represented Humphries and the organizations, argued they have standing because the Confederate monuments law allows anyone — not just a "community stakeholder" — to file a legal challenge and seek damages. "Groups like the NAACP and Wildlife Federation sue on behalf of problems they see," he told Axios. What's next: Chandler is also representing a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter and a resident in a similar case against DeKalb County and Decatur of a in the city's square. Yes, and: Chandler said he had not discussed the opinion in detail with his client but she and the SCV organizations "want the monument to stay there." Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

More Atlanta stories

No stories could be found Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Atlanta.Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.