A considerable number of Orange County residents addressed the Board of County Commissioners late last month to express concern regarding the possibility of massive Confederate flags being raised along U.S. 70 in Hillsborough and NC-54 outside of Chapel Hill.
Two groups, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County or ACTBAC, are behind the efforts to raise the flags, the latter of which has been characterized as a Neo-Confederate hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
ACTBAC is also considering locations on Interstates 40 and 85.
Opponents of the flags are citing the county’s unified development ordinance which regulates the type, placement and physical dimensions of all signs in the interests of public health, safety and welfare.
Although flags are exempt from this code, the code defines a flag as insignia of any national, state or political subdivision, which Orange County resident Ivy Barger claims would not include the Confederate flag.
“Is it the flag of a country? Nope. There never was a country for which that symbol served as a flag,” said Barger. “There was an entire war fought and lost to declare the Confederacy its own country. This was 150 years ago. It didn’t work out for them.”
President of the Northern Orange County NAACP Patricia Clayton urged the commissioners to do what they could to stop the flags from coming to Orange County.
“We are a close-knit community in northern Orange County, and we want to continue our unique unity,” said Clayton.
Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners Mark Dorosin thanked those who spoke and called the flags a matter of concern.
“I want to assure you all that we are taking this matter very seriously, and we are going to continue to explore all of the options that we have going forward,” said Dorosin.
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Please do not let this happen in our community. What can we do as concerned citizens to prevent these hate mongers from spreading their racist propaganda in Orange County?
Go back to Mexico where you came from and don’t worry about a Confederate Flag
Betsi Harris, these neo-Confederate groups welcome African-Americans among their members, point out that the Confederacy WASN’T fighting for slavery, show that many blacks served VOLUNTARILY in the Confederate fighting forces, and have as their slogan “HERITAGE, NOT HATE”. So how are they “hate-mongers”, and what “racist propaganda” are they spreading?
I say to all the misguided people who believe the war was fought over slavery should look up the corwin 13th amendment this amendment was the first 13th amendment, and if this don’t convince you then read the entire EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION were LINCOLN Did not want to free the slaves in the slave states of Missouri, Kentucky, west Virginia, Maryland, and all the places in the Southern States that are under UNION ARMY CONTROL The confederate soldier Battle flag was only used on the Battlefield to Rally Troops in the WAR OF NORTHERN AGGRESSION. WE FLY THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAGS TO HONOR THE MORETHAN 26O,OOO BRAVE CONFEDERATE ANCESTORS OF OURS WHO FOUGHT FOR HOME AND COUNTRY, PEOPLE WHO LOVE THERE FAMILIES HERITAGE WILL NEVER RETREAT OR SURRENDER TO THE NAACP OR ANY OTHER HATE GROUPS WHO TRY TO REDEFINE AND ERAZE OUR HONORABLE CONFEDERATE HERITAGE. REMEMBER THE VICTORS OF WAR WRITE THE FAKE HISTORY TO COVER UP THERE WAR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. EVERYONE HAS THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO FLY THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG. BECAUSE WE ARE SOUTHERN AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.