Showing that racism is alive and well in the South, a massive Confederate flag was raised on June 3 along I-4 and I-75 outside of Tampa, Fla.
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A spokesperson for the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, the project’s sponsor, stated that this Confederate flag is the world’s largest. At 30 feet by 50 feet, the flag is the size of a tractor trailer. It is set on a pole measuring 139 feet, the maximum height allowed by the Federal Aviation Authority, and will be illuminated at night once the monument is completed. (TampaBay.com, May 31)
Walter Hilderman, a former member of SCV, affirms that the current leadership of the group is aligned with the League of the South—an organization whose self-proclaimed goal is an independent Southern republic consisting of the member states of the former Confederacy. According to the Southern Poverty Center, the SCV has a $5 million war chest to fund its hate propaganda throughout the nation.
The SCV claims the flag symbolizes the Southern heritage. But for African Americans, that heritage amounts to a grim history of slavery, lynching and oppression.
Curtis Stokes, Hillsborough County president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, stated, “I’m surprised that they would let something like this to go on in Hillsboro County.” (TampaBay.com, May 31)
“We want to build a coalition of people that want to live in peace and move forward,” said Connie Burton, a member of Sons and Daughters of Harriet Tubman. “We will not tolerate the blazing of that flag.”
The Sons and Daughters of Harriet Tubman organization, named after the heroic former slave who helped others escape to freedom, has the removal of the flag as its highest priority. Founder Michelle Williams managed to put together a coalition of more than 200 flag opponents since June 4, and has a rally planned for Aug. 16.
“Hanging that flag is as vivid as a noose hanging from an oak tree,” said Williams. (The Tampa Tribune, June 15)
