It's been two days since the Confederate flag was lowered from the State Capitol grounds in Columbia, South Carolina, a move made in the wake of the deadly Charleston church shootings on June 17. But across the country the flag still remains at the center of a renewed debate over the flag's history and symbolism.
Numerous rallies were held recently across the country in support of the flag while others continued to celebrate the flag's removal in South Carolina.
Boycott over
On Saturday, the NAACP's National Board of Directors voted to end the organization's 15-year boycott of the state of South Carolina after the flag's removal on Friday.
Breaking--Emergency resolution passed by the NAACP National Board of Directors at #NAACP106, ending the 15 year South Carolina boycott.— NAACP (@NAACP) July 11, 2015
The resolution notes that though the flag's removal, "is not going to solve most of the severe tangible challenges facing our nation... it does symbolize an end to the reverence of and adherence to values that support racially-based chattel slavery and the hatred which has divided our country for too long."
The boycott began in 2000, when the state debated the flag's placement atop the Capitol Dome and continued after the flag was relocated to the Capitol grounds, where it flew until Friday.
The NCAA, too, has announced that the flag's removal clears the way for the state to bid on hosting championship events.
Pro-flag rallies held nationwide
Rallies were held across the nation in support of the Confederate flag this weekend including in Oklahoma City, Knoxville and Loxahatchee, Florida.
A Confederate flag parade/rally in Loxahatchee: http://t.co/2pewFpBOev via @YouTube— Kenny Malone (@RadioMalone) July 12, 2015
But one of the largest rallies happened on Sunday in Ocala, Florida.
The Ocala gathering, involving around 2,000 people, was dubbed the Florida Southern Pride Ride, where supporters of the flag participated in a caravan through the city, flying the Confederate flag and other banners from their trucks and cars. Attendees repeated the same ideology that supporters have clung to in the debate, insisting the flag is a symbol of their heritage, not hate.
Participant Rick Hart told The Ocala Star Banner, “It’s a history thing. The flag is also a military flag. It’s not a race symbol.”
The flag had been taken down at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala several weeks ago, but the Marion County Commission unanimously voted to restore the flag earlier this week.
Today, though, hardly represented the end of pro-flag events. Next up, perhaps most controversially, will be a rally by the Ku Klux Klan at the Capitol grounds in Columbia, South Carolina next weekend.
Thefts reported
As the debate over the flag has taken center stage, there has been an uptick in thefts of the Confederate flag.
In Glasgow, Delaware, three teenagers were arrested for stealing a Confederate flag from a home and spray-painting an expletive-laden message on a boat at the home. The flag-flying homeowner, Barry Binkley, told The News Journal that he's displayed the flag for 15 years without incident and lamented the claims of racism, denying he's a racist and adding, “They are taking away my freedom to think what I want."
And in Georgia, a Confederate flag was stolen from Stone Mountain State Park outside Atlanta. The park features a giant carving on one side of three Confederate Army leaders: Robert E, Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson.
Despite recent calls for the removal of the flags at the park, they will continue to fly because a state law prevents their removal since Stone Mountain is a Confederate memorial.
Also, on Sunday, a viral video spreading across social media channels purportedly showed two youths stealing a Confederate flag from in front of a house at an undisclosed location. The user who posted the video to Facebook lives in Sarasota, Florida.
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