Posted on 07/23/2002 6:29:29 PM PDT by TexConfederate1861
CRESTVIEW, Fla. - A local NAACP official says the group is planning protests and economic sanctions against this Florida Panhandle city for refusing to haul down the Confederate battle flag.
It flies over a memorial to William "Uncle Bill" Lundy, Florida's last surviving Civil War veteran. He died in 1957.
Crestview's city council Monday unanimously reaffirmed a decision to keep the rebel banner flying. The council rejected a compromise offered by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to put the flag in a shadow box at the memorial, or take it down and present it to Lundy's family.
"If the city doesn't respect the feelings of some people, some people ought not to respect the feelings of the city," said local NAACP chapter president Sabu Williams.
Williams said he would seek national NAACP support for protests and avoidance of certain Crestview businesses although he insisted that would not constitute a boycott.
The banner was removed from South Carolina's statehouse dome two years ago, but the NAACP has continued a boycott there because it was moved to a nearby Confederate monument.
Flag opponents contend it is a symbol of slavery and racial hatred, while supporters say it is part of their Southern heritage.
"We believe the flag should be lowered in such a way that respects a veteran," Williams told the council in front of a packed meeting room.
Sam Hayes, the council's only black member, then delivered an impassioned speech to keep the banner flying.
Wearing his Army uniform, the veteran of three wars pulled out his tattered brown and tan Company A battle flag with two bullet holes and said it was comparable to the Confederate banner because both were used in combat.
"I am offended by what people perceive it represents," Hayes said. "We are fighting about the battle flag, not the Confederate flag."
The Confederacy's first official flag was the Stars and Bars, which looked similar to the U.S. flag but had three stripes instead of 13. That gave rise to unofficial use of the battle flag, or Southern Cross, to avoid confusion.
The Confederacy later replaced the Stars and Bars with the Stainless Banner, a white flag with the Southern Cross in an upper corner. During the final days of the Civil War, a red vertical stripe was added.
Racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan later used the battle flag, with its familiar X-crossed stripes, adding to the controversy.
Philip White, spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans said he was pleased by Crestview's decision.
"This issue has come up a number of times and we feel we've got some closure," White said.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Yes, and the boot licking, turncoat scalawags have big ears, too; Scalawags who spit on their family, friends and heritage.
free the southland,sw
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