rebel flag flap in Dixie

[Chris Brady <cdbrady@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

{compare these people?s adoration of the banner of militant white
supremacy and racist slavery with the recent crushing response (e.g.,
New Hampshire) to attempted memorials for the Americans who fought
fascism in Spain. Nota bene: the name of the county in question, and its
historic associations with its namesake.  Non-US comrades take note of
the social conditions in this sector of the USA.  ?cb}


School board hears about Rebel flag ban

by Kathy Wagstaff - Journal and Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), Friday,
October 4, 2002
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/metro_d3d912f9721f22300093.html



 It was standing room only at the Cherokee County school board meeting
Thursday night as parents, students and supporters of the Confederate
flag addressed the controversial school ban on Confederate flag apparel.

?I?m concerned [about] what students are being taught in the schools,?
James Page, a Cherokee County resident and father of three, told board
members. ?I?m a taxpayer and I think I have a right to know. It bothers
me that a flag of honor is considered racist. It?s not racist to be
Southern.?

On Sept. 6, Cherokee High School Principal Bill Sebring prohibited
students from wearing anything depicting the Confederate flag after two
parents complained that their children felt uncomfortable and
intimidated by the symbol.

The following day, more than 200 students wore the flag on their clothes
to protest the ban. In response, Sebring formed a student advisory
committee to explore student attitudes on the subject. Like many in the
audience, Page and his wife wore stickers on their clothes that depicted
the Confederate flag. Others in the audience wore T-shirts adorned with
Confederate flags and slogans like ?These Colors Don?t Run? and ?Roy
Barnes-Georgia?s one term Governor.?

Although the issue of the Confederate flag was not on the agenda for
board discussion, eight speakers signed up to speak against the school?s
flag ban.

The half-hour allotted for public speakers was interrupted by frequent
outbursts of applause. None of the speakers spoke in favor of the ban.

Dan Coleman, the public relations officer for the Georgia Sons of
Confederate Veterans, gave board members a brief history lesson on
several flags used by the Confederacy during the war. Waving four small
flags as he spoke, he told the board that all of Southern heritage is
being threatened.

?We?re descendants,? said Coleman. ?It bothered me that the papers say
everything Southern is racist. That?s not true. Our entire Southern
culture is under attack.?

School board members did not respond to speakers? comments, but
afterward Chairman Gary Puckett echoed what several other board members
had already told members of the audience.

?We have every confidence that the student advisory committee will come
to the right decision,? Puckett said.

The committee of eight students is expected to study the ban and may
bring a recommendation to school officials. It?s not clear whether
school officials would lift the ban if students requested it.




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