← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · confederate_commando
Thread ID: 18857 | Posts: 7 | Started: 2005-06-27
2005-06-27 04:29 | User Profile
Confederate Flag Dedication Draws Protestors
[IMG]http://wsfa.static.worldnow.com/images/3522764_BG1.jpg[/IMG]
The flag flies over I-65 in Verbena.
An oversized Confederate battle flag has been flying over Interstate 65 in Verbena for months now. But Sunday, the Sons of Confederate Veterans held an official dedication ceremony.
They say the flag is there to stay. But a small group of protestors is hoping to have the sometimes controversial banner removed.
To the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the large flag is a reminder of a valiant effort by their forefathers to defend their homeland.
"Our heritage means a lot to us," said Joseph Willis. "That's why we wanted to get the flag flying where people can see it and remember their heritage."
Because the flag is on private property, many people who are offended by the stars thought that there was nothing they could do about it. But not Frank Matthews.
"We want to make a stand," Matthews told the media just outside Sunday's dedication ceremony.
Matthews says the flag is too high and too close to the interstate and therefore violates state law.
Matthews is a civil rights activist and radio talk show host from Birmingham. He says the flag conveys a message to motorists, and therefore should be controlled by the state's sign regulations.
He is asking the governor to order the flag taken down.
But the Sons of Confederate Veterans say they'll fight for symbol of the past. They claim it's nothing racist. And nothing they plan on taking down.
"There's an ongoing push to do away with our southern heritage," explained Willis. "And I want to stop that if I can."
Reporter: Mark Bullock
[url]http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3522764&nav=0RdDbTEL[/url]
:boxing:
2005-06-27 04:56 | User Profile
[url]http://newstalk1070.com/showdj.asp?DJID=21378[/url]
2005-06-27 05:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE=confederate_commando]the Sons of Confederate Veterans say they'll fight for symbol of the past. They claim it's nothing racist.[/QUOTE]
And even if it were, so the Hell what? The First Amendment protects expressions of racialism, whether liberals, neo-cons, and ignorant members of the conformist booboise realize it or not.
*[B]THREE CHEERS FOR NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST![/I][/B]
2005-06-28 23:42 | User Profile
[SOME MORE:]
Protesters rebel over flag display
By Erin Elaine Mosely Montgomery Advertiser
[url]http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/img/news_daily/062705/ALA_flag1.jpg[/url]
A huge Confederate flag is raised over the southbound
side of Interstate 65 in Verbena on Sunday.
-- Jerry Ayres AP/The Birmingham News
VERBENA -- On a mild Sunday afternoon, the boundaries of private property were tested. Groups gathered on neighboring lands for two very different reasons. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans held a dedication ceremony at the foot of a 100 foot-flagpole where a Confederate battle flag has been raised since March...
[url]http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5onprotest27.htm[/url]
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[THE COLOURED 'RESPONSE':]
Dear Governor: "Clearly, Mr. Hestley has a conscientious right to communicate his message. Webster's Dictionary defines a sign as a "gesture that conveys an idea, wish , or command...notice displayed publicly as an advertisement, to impart information, or to give guidance." Therefore, the flag is in effect, a " sign" erected to communicate a message to those traveling along Alabama's interstate highway. The erection of the flag, where it is currently located, is in clear violation of state highway regulations of the Department of Transportation relating to the position allowed for signs along interstate highways." [url]http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5onprotestxtra27.htm[/url]
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Confederate flag ceremony draws protesters; no arrests The Associated Press
A dedication ceremony Sunday for a huge Confederate battle flag flying over Interstate 65 north of Montgomery drew about a half-dozen protesters with signs calling on Gov. Bob Riley to remove the "racist flag" display. [url]http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050626/APN/506260741[/url]
=== "I have always observed that wherever you find the Negro, everything is going down around him, and wherever you find the White man, you see everything around him improving." - RE Lee to his cousin Col Thomas H. Carter June 1865
2005-06-29 02:00 | User Profile
[THOSE PEOPLE NEVER GIVE UP...]
State Weighs in on Confederate Flag Flap
The flag flies just off I-65 in Verbena.
State Weighs in on Confederate Flag Flap
Another flag flap for Alabama. This time the repercussions over a huge Confederate flag flying along Interstate 65 could have a ripple effect on the state.
Opponents question the legality of putting up the giant battle flag and vow to take drastic measures to bring it down. Others view it as their given heritage.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans dedicated the banner Sunday. As they raised the flag, a protestor raised a question about it's legality.
Protestor Frank Matthews says, "that racist flag is a violation of state statutes." He says the banner is too tall and too close to the interstate.
So WSFA 12 News checked with the state department of transportation.
[COLOR=DarkRed]Tony Harris, the department's spokesman says, "When it comes to outdoor signs, billboards, and things of that nature, there's nothing that we have in the law or in regulations that effect flying a flag on private property."
DOT lawyers even examined the height and proximity of the flag and found nothing illegal.[/COLOR]
State representative Alvin Holmes of Montgomery says, "You know sometimes the lawyers for the highway department, their interpretation is wrong and backwards."
Holmes says he will have attorneys for the state's black caucus review the law, including whether the flag is a distraction to drivers.
[COLOR=DarkRed]If it is determined that the flag is flying legally, then he will ask white leaders to call for it's removal. And if that doesn't work, Holmes says, "We are going to consider calling for a nationwide economic boycott against the state of Alabama."[/COLOR]
Governor Bob Riley says, "That's as much a part of our culture, a part of Alabama history as a million other things."
During Sunday's dedication ceremony, protesters posted signs on the bank below the flag calling for the governor to bring it down.
Reporter: Ashley Anderson
[url]http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3527616&nav=0RdEbVrN[/url]
2005-06-29 03:13 | User Profile
LONG MAY SHE WAVE By, Ellen Williams (Written on the occasion of the June 26th Dedication of the I-65 Battle Flag with gratitude to the Alabama Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans with an especial thank you to Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Wyatt Willis whose tenacity and devotion saw this project through.)
Slowly and deliberately she rose with every eye on her, and when she reached the top of her magnificent 110 ft. pole to take her place of honor once again in the Heart of Dixie, grown men had glistening eyes and ladies bit their lips to stop the trembling; children were simply overawed with her size and beauty.
God smiled upon her magnificence and upon those gathered to pay her honor for a brisk wind rippled her Cross and stars as she took her place along a busy interstate; and a cloud-cover sheilded from the hot June sun, descendants of those brave men who paid for her with their last full measure of devotion.
For we have not forgotten her in this state; and there were children there who now understand "who they are and from whence they came and for what she stands," who in future years will continue the good fight that she never be forgotten.
She reaches up toward Heaven where surely Jefferson Davis and Generals Lee, Jackson, Forrest, A. P. Hill, John B. Gordon, the gallant Pelham and the martyr Sam Davis and others, surely raised their hats in salute to her. And in the distance was a ghostly Rebel Yell from that rag-tag army of starved, bare-footed heroes who know that we have NOT forgotten.
She is our symbol "set on a high hill" to give light and truth to all who see her.
LONG MAY SHE WAVE.
2005-07-01 10:54 | User Profile
Heritage doesn't require 'permission' Nelson Smith has given Confederates "permission" to commemorate their heritage as long as they do it in private. He says the I-65 flag will have a harmful impact on tourism and industry. I guess the $600 million aircraft industry soon to locate in Mobile just didn't see it. Alabama's historical sites attract more tourism than the beaches. Confederates are not second-class citizens in this state and we do not need Nelson Smith's nor Alvin Holmes' nor Morris Dees' permission to honor our ancestors. Ellen Williams Leroy [url]http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5edltrs0630web.htm[/url]
If you fly it, they will come The South Alabamian "Eighty percent of all Southerners can trace their ancestry back to a Confederate soldier as compared to only 20 percent of northerners who know they are descended from Union veterans." [url]http://www.southalabamian.com/news/2005/0630/News/022.html[/url]
[POOR LITTLE NEGRO...] Activist plans to sue to bring down Confederate flag Tuscaloosa News A Birmingham Civil ""Rights"" activist and radio talk show host says he plans to file a lawsuit to force the Sons of Confederate Veterans to remove a giant Confederate flag from the side of Interstate 65 near Verbena. [url]http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050630/APN/506301160[/url]
:starwars: