Free Republic

AMHERST, Va. (AP) -- The removal of the Confederate flag from Amherst County's official seal has upset Southern heritage groups, who contend residents weren't told of the change. They will get no argument from county officials: They acknowledge the image was quietly removed in August 2004 to avoid an uproar. "Anytime you get a subject that broad, you can interrupt the entire county," said Leon Parrish of the Board of Supervisors. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and others opposed to the change have gathered hundreds of signatures protesting the flag's removal.

The removal of the Confederate flag from Amherst County's official seal has upset Southern heritage groups, who contend residents weren't told of the change. County officials acknowledge the image was quietly removed in August 2004 to avoid an uproar.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A former high school student barred from her prom because she wore a dress styled as a Confederate battle flag has reached a settlement with the school district, her attorney said. Jacqueline Duty filed a lawsuit after Greenup County school officials called the dress too controversial and kept her out of Russell High School's May 1, 2004 prom. Duty claimed the district violated her First Amendment right to free speech and to celebrate her heritage. School officials notified the U.S. District Court last week about the settlement. Duty's attorney, Earl-Ray Neal, confirmed a settlement had been...

Director Spike Lee, known for his stylish and controversial films, said Mississippi should get rid of the state flag during a speech at the University of Mississippi's Black History Month celebration. Lee said Mississippians cling too tightly to what he considers symbols of oppression. "You've gotta do something about that flag," he said. "I know people say its representative of history. Well, so's the swastika."

A Hingham (MA) man has removed a Confederate flag he had been flying outside his downtown home after police told him they had received a complaint about it.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An organizer of a planned memorial to honor Confederate soldiers who died at an Illinois prison camp says the rebel flag will be displayed at the memorial's dedication, despite opposition. "We consider this an honorable flag. This is a soldier's flag," said Ron Casteel, national chief of staff for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, one of the memorial's planners. "There will be no substitute." Camp Butler, just east of Springfield, was a training facility for Union troops during the Civil War and a prison camp for more than 3,500 captured Confederates. More than 800 of the prisoners...

HIGHLAND -- An altercation at Octorara Area High School between a black student and a white student known to wear clothing adorned with images of the Confederate flag has prompted administrators to ban the symbol from school property. Principal Robert A Lewis Jr. sent a letter to parents earlier this month, informing them of the school's new policy. The white student is not the only pupil wearing Confederate flag paraphernalia, Lewis said in an interview Thursday, nor does he believe the ban arbitrarily infringes students' rights to freedom of expression."Whenever that freedom of expression begins to interfere with the learning...