Historical Flag, Yes, Battle Flag, No
When the Harrison County Board of Supervisors voted four to one to put all eight flags back up on the beach display at the foot of Debuys Road, they had to know it would spark another debate. A group known as Keepers of the Pledge rallied at the display on the beach Saturday, protesting the fact that supervisors have decided to put the flags back up.
"To me it shows that our Board of Supervisors lacks integrity," Keepers of the Pledge member Judy Whitfield said. "They're giving in to the pressure to do the wrong thing."
Judy Whitfield says, "If we're going to use a flag that represents the confederacy, which it was a governing body, there's no problem with putting something here, but it wasn't a battle flag we're not at war and so a battle flag has no place here."
Donna Jones spent her afternoon at the rally supporting the protest and says, "Me being young and being black I believe that it's just not right to have to pay taxes on something that I don't believe in and that's why we're here today."
Their frustration comes with what they say is a simple case of right and wrong. The Supervisors took the flags down for a reason and this group says they should stick to it.
"The Board of Supervisors agreed that if the historian told them that the battle flag was the incorrect flag to be flying they would take it down," Whitfield said. "Every historian in the country has said it's incorrect and yet they choose to put it up anyway."
Dixie Daniels also came out to the beach display to show her support.
"To me the supervisors are making this strictly political decision here by saying we're going to go back on our word of what we said when we said we would listen to the historian that they hired and fly the correct flag," Daniels said.
Rozenia Lamell thought that showing her support for her peers and community to see.
"They know this is the wrong flag to put up and they have done it anyway. Some people say we need to go ahead and let it go, but we don't, because you know who needs to let it go, the Sons of Confederate Veterans need to let this go, it's ridiculous and if they know this is wrong, it should end."
