Ballot to test interest on school vouchers

Georgia Republicans will test support for school vouchers during May primary election balloting.

The question on the statewide GOP primary ballot asks:

“Should Georgia empower parents with the right to use the tax dollars allocated for the education of their children, allowing them the freedom to choose among public, private, virtual, and home schools?”

The question merely gauges voters’ opinion, and the ballot result would not bring any school funding changes without further legislative action.

Vouchers, or permutations such as Educational Savings Accounts, are a recurrent theme during the state’s legislative sessions. And they are controversial, opposed by groups that represent public school teachers.

Last year, Gov. Nathan Deal’s hand-picked Education Reform Commission voted narrowly to kill a recommendation to create voucher-like accounts for parents.

Upcoming

“Volley Against Violence” by the Police Athletic League, Atlanta Youth Tennis and Education Foundation and Chattahoochee Tennis Foundation. 5:30 p.m. registration, 6-8 p.m. Friday and every Friday. Washington Park Tennis Center, 1125 Lena St. NW. This youth tennis and crime prevention program is designed to engage at-risk youth at local tennis centers to provide sports instruction, character building, food and games. 404-658-6229, aytef.org, Kristina@ustaAtlanta.com.

SAT Strategy Session for ages 12 to 18. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Free. East Atlanta Branch, 400 Flat Shoals Ave. A Princeton Review instructor will go over tips and strategies for the new SAT test. Bring a pencil, calculator, snack and drink. 404-7305438, afpls.org.

“Matzah at the Museum” Family Passover Celebration. 2-5 p.m. Sunday. $12.95 to $14.95, free for babies and members. Children’s Museum of Atlanta, 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW. Rabbi Brian Glusman at 678812-4161 or brian.glusman@atlantajcc.org. Tickets: ChildrensMuseumAtlanta.org and buy tickets for 1 p.m.

As the Civil War drew to a close, the desire to honor those who fought for the Confederacy was an impulse many Southern white women shared. Throughout the South, Ladies Memorial Associations were formed. They oversaw burial of the dead, monument construction and advocacy for establishing Confederate Memorial Day.

In Atlanta, like in many other Southern cities, a benevolent association was formed by the wives, widows, sisters and mothers of Confederate soldiers. Assuming “men’s work” while the men were off to war, the women volunteered in benevolent societies, hospital associations, sewing groups and other organizations.

The Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association was formed April 15, 1866, to help honor living and deceased Confederate veterans. The association would undertake many projects in the following decades, including creation of a large section of Oakland Cemetery for Confederate veterans. One of their most memorable projects was the marble Atlanta Lion memorial to the unknown Confederate dead.

The Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association commissioned T. M. Brady of Canton to create the monument to the 3,000 unknown Confederate war dead buried in Oakland Cemetery.

The work was sculpted from a single piece of marble supplied by the Tate Marble Company in Georgia. This massive monument weighs more than 15 tons.

In 1894 it was the largest block of marble quarried in America. The figure of the lion is 9 feet long and rests upon a rustic base of approximately 10 feet. The monument depicts the lion fallen on the Confederate flag, which he clinches in one paw. Beneath him are several muskets and a saber.

Brady’s sculpture was commemorated on April 26, 1894. The inspiration for the Lion of Atlanta was Bertil Thorvaldsen’s colossal Lion of Lucerne (Switzerland) which honors the 16 Swiss Since 1909, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographers have captured the metro area’s history in pictures, often from the eyes of everyday residents. From mule-drawn wagons to interstate and MARTA construction, some of the South’s best photographers have captured images that are worth a second look. Find hand-picked images from the AJC Photo Vault on Tumblr at ajcphotovault.tumblr.com. You can also follow the visuals team on Twitter: @ajcphotos, @ajcvideos; and like us on Facebook: AJC videos, AJC photos.