Beulah Rucker founded The Industrial School in Gainesville, GA in 1914. The school was one of the first in Hall County to educate Black people and teach them trades. She was instrumental in helping to uplift the Black community of Gainesville and the surrounding county. In 1951, she also started the first night school for Black veterans in Georgia to help them get their GEDs. Currently, in the Center of Downtown Gainesville, there stands a monument to honor the Confederate Army. “Old Joe” has been standing since 1909 when the Daughters of the Confederacy leased the land from the city. Since the 1950’s, there have been frequent protests to remove the statue, but the city refuses even going so far as to renew the lease on the land in 2011 until 2033 arguing that since Old Joe does not represent any single person, there is nothing racist about his monument. I propose that this statue be replaced with a monument to Beulah Rucker.