McCartney Forde, who started the Change.org petition, wants to remodel the monument on the north face of Stone Mountain because he thinks it "perpetuates the perception of Georgia as an icon of racism, slavery and oppression."
"It's almost like a black eye or an embarrassing smudge on our culture," Forde told NBC affiliate WXIA on Monday.
The Confederate Memorial Carving, which features likenesses of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, is the "largest high relief sculpture in the world" and a popular tourist attraction.
Although the memorial was conceived by groups wishing to preserve Confederate history, Stone Mountain Park is owned by the state and is managed by Stone Mountain Memorial Association, a Georgia state authority.
