MORE CONFEDERATE FLAG FLAP IN FLORIDA

By R. A. Pearson

The construction of a park to honor Civil War Confederate solders near the busy I-75/I-4 interchange, an area some have deemed as the gateway to Tampa from south Florida and the east coast, has caused a major stir in the Tampa area. The debate heated up when the United Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Southern Civil War heritage group planning the park, flew a 30 x 50 foot Confederate Battle Flag (actually a Confederate Naval Ensign to anyone who really knows flags, the actual battle flag was square) on June 3 in honor of Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ 200th birthday.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) indicate they will raise the battle flag again for good on top of a 139-foot flagpole in July after construction of the memorial to Confederate veterans is completed at its base. The park will include 30 bronze plaques set in granite telling Civil War stories. According to a SCV spokesperson the flag “is the eye-catcher,” with the ultimate goal of drawing people to the memorial for a history lesson with a “Southern slant.” The flagpole cost about $18,000 and the flag cost $800. It was made in China. The Clarion Issue hopes for the sake of Jefferson Davis the flag was made somewhere in Southern China.


That plan, especially the flag, has a number of people upset for a variety of reasons. African-American residents along with other residents protested to the Hillsborough County commissioners soon after the flag was raised. However, Hillsborough County commissioners’ legal advisers indicated the body had no legal means to prohibit the SCV from flying the flag. The commission asked the Sons of Confederate Veterans members to remove the flag to avoid fracturing the community along racial lines, but the group indicated they intended to proceed with the park and their plans.

African-American residents of the county, to whom the flag is a symbol of their ancestors' enslavement, lynching, and disfranchisement vowed it would come down. They threatened an economic boycott and protests that could sully the county’s image as the nation turns its attention to the Super Bowl in Tampa in January.

The controversy over this particular flag is rooted in the county commission's refusal to honor a request made by the Sons of Confederate Veterans two years ago to proclaim a day Confederate Veterans Day in the county. Over time, the Confederate Battle Flag has largely disappeared from public places. It was removed from the Hillsborough County seal in 1994. However, legal experts for the county say the private flagpole falls outside the jurisdiction of Code Enforcement.

The Clarion Issue believes in the right of the United Sons of Confederate Veterans to establish private parks to remember Confederate soldiers and tell their stories. There are several members of this organization on the Clarion Issue staff and even the editor qualifies for membership. We also have descendents of Union soldiers on our staff and are proud to be in a united country, free from the issues that divided us in 1860 and before. We believe in heritage and remind everyone that the honor and laurels of the Confederate Battle Flag has been hijacked and perverted by hate groups even incapable of coming up with their own symbols. There are other Confederate flags the SCV could use, such as the First National Flag, the Bonnie Blue Flag, or several others. The use of these flags would even move the study and discussion of history and heritage beyond where it is today. Ordering a new flag would also help the Chinese economy as it recovers from the earthquake.

The memorial park will be dedicated April 26, 2009, the traditional Confederate Memorial Day.