explore, Christopher

Oh, I been flying... mama, there ain't no denyin' I've been flying, ain't no denyin', no denyin'

Tuesday

A Letter to the Editor at, The Flint Journal

read the article my letter is in response to first,

Flag flap riles City of Flags council
DAVISON
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
By Ken Palmer
kpalmer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6313

DAVISON - A Davison City Council member says the City of Flags would be a better place with one fewer flag - the one bearing the Confederate symbol in its upper right corner.

In a letter e-mailed to other city officials and local newspapers, Councilman Kevin McKague said the Mississippi state flag should be taken down and returned to Gov. Haley Barbour with a note saying "the City of Flags will have an empty flag pole in his state's honor."

McKague said the Confederate "Stars and Bars" is a racist symbol and has no place in the municipal center courtyard.

"I do believe there are some people who truly believe it is an innocuous symbol, simply a historical marker representing the South," McKague said. "However, I think that's naive.

"It's not like they are waving a Nike symbol on a flag there. It's connected to the KKK and other racist organizations."

Two other council members quickly rejected McKague's suggestion.

Councilman James Hansen said the city shouldn't concern itself with another state's decision about what goes on its flag.

"All 50 state flags fly," Hansen said. "How can you fly 49 and say you're the City of Flags?

"(The council) should be worried about the residents of their city and not be trying to second-guess government issues in the state of Mississippi. ... This is the last thing the city of Davison needs to be worried about."

Councilman Donald Csutoras had a similar reaction.

"Kevin, you need to get a life," Csutoras said a reply to McKague's e-mail. "Call it what you think it is ... but it is their state flag and they are part of the Unites States of America. ..."

McKague, 38, who was elected to his first term in November, said the Mississippi flag has bothered him for years. He once expressed his feelings in a letter to former Mayor Kay Adair, but nothing came of it, he said.

The city is not obligated to fly all 50 state flags, and the council has "a responsibility to do what's right," he said.

McKague said the Confederate symbol was carried by an "insurgent army" in a war that caused more American deaths than any other war fought by the U.S. It is closely associated with the KKK, neo-Nazis and other hate groups, he said.

"I'm going to bring it up and see where it goes," he said.

"We have a lot of important issues, and I don't want to distract or divert any attention from those, of course. But I'd feel remiss if I didn't bring it up."

City resident Jim Kerkau said he's not concerned about the Mississippi state flag flying in the city courtyard.

"I don't see is as a symbol of racism," Kerkau said. "I see it as standing for the South, but not for racism."

Amanda Garrett, another Davison resident, said the Confederate battle banner is simply part of the history and identity of the South.

"It doesn't mean those people still carry those (racist) attitudes," she said.

In 2003, three Grand Blanc High School students were disciplined after a race-related altercation sparked by the Confederate emblem. Black students and others were angered when one of the students displayed a Confederate flag and another displayed the Mississippi state flag.

In 2000, the City Council in Jackson, Miss. voted to permanently remove the flag from its chambers because black residents were offended by it, according to Journal files.

My Letter:

This is in response to the front-page article on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 titled, “Flag flap riles City of Flags council.” As a lifelong Fenton native and Louisiana State University sophomore, I have the privilege of having an expanded perspective on this issue. LSU is having the very same debate as some tailgaters have taken to flying the confederate flag in our school colors before football games. I’d specifically like to address Davison resident Amanda Garrett’s statement, “It doesn’t mean those people still carry those (racist) attitudes,” and the argument that the flag simply represents the South, a point also made by resident, Jim Kerkau. The South has millions of African-American residents who are vehemently opposed to and hurt by the Confederate flag flying over their heads as an official state flag. “The Stainless Banner,” or more commonly, “the Confederate flag,” was adopted by The Confederate States of America in 1863. An entity that stood in support of racist laws, slavery, and yes, state rights insofar as those rights would afford laws that would continue slavery, a mainstay of the Southern economy at the time. The Confederate flag represents the Confederate States of America, not the mostly African-American LSU football team, not the South, not the African-Americans living there, and certainly not the wonderful city of Davison.

Christopher P. Peters



-Christopher P. Peters -

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I saw your letter when the Journal printed it. It's a good one!

3:50 PM  

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