Black soldiers' museum proposed at Georgia's Stone Mountain

ATLANTA (AP) An official says a plan to build a museum focused on black Civil War soldiers at a Georgia park honoring Confederate history has taken priority over a proposed monument to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Stone Mountain Memorial Association's board voted Tuesday to explore the museum proposal. Association Chief Executive Bill Stephens says the board didn't discuss an earlier proposal for a ``freedom bell'' to the slain civil rights activist atop Stone Mountain.

Civil rights groups and Confederate symbol supporters both balked at placing a bell in tribute to King atop Stone Mountain. The dome's north face boasts a massive stone carving of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall'' Jackson.