Confederate Flag Display Scars County Employees

Vol. LXXVI, NO. 35

Thursday, September 1 - 8, 2010

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Confederate Flag Display Scars County Employees

Written by Kenneth Miller, (Managing Editor), on 08-05-2009 23:50

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The Confederate Flag hangs adjacent to the Constitution of The United States in the historical display case.

Photo by Jason Lewis

Confederate Flag Display
Scars County Employees

By Kenneth Miller
Sentinel Managing Editor

Enclosed in the treasured glass display case at the Los Angeles County Hall of Records downtown is an ugly reminder of the wicked sins that African Americans endured during slavery.

Millions of people who have entered in and out of the doors of the building that contains the department of probation and the treasure and tax collections departments among others for the County.

However, long after the words "These Are The Words America Lives Byit is a rather small, but prominently placed Confederate Flag that is poached above the American flags and adjacent to the Constitution of The United States in the historical display case that has many of its Black employees fuming this week.

"That flag symbolizes lynching and racism and should be removed," urged treasure Michael O. Armstrong.

Armstrong is not alone in his disgust of the placement of a flag that is the proud symbol of the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacy.

Supervising Deputy Public Administrator Harold Winston called the display shameful and says that he has asked for it to be removed from the display case, which also is a reflection of other historical American flags.

"It is hurtful and shameful and reminds me of the way my ancestors were treated and has no place in a public building," added Winston.

When each of the employees were asked if their names could be used for this story, they emphatically said yes, although a fear of repercussion from their superiors is a possibility at the building where roughly 20 percent of the employees are Black.

They said the one person who can remove it, the building manager, told them that he could not find a key for the case and by another high ranking superior that if it did not affect their work they should not worry about it.

Others who are employees who are in support of the flag removal would not allow for their names or comments to be used for this article.

The Hall of records building was built in 1963 at precisely the moment when the Civil Rights movement was talking full flight.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was marching against oppressors in the south as it was being erected.

The Confederate battle flag, called the "Southern Cross" or the cross of St. Andrew, has been described variously as a proud emblem of Southern heritage and as a shameful reminder of slavery and segregation.

In the past, several Southern states flew the Confederate battle flag along with the U.S. and state flags over their statehouses. Others incorporated the controversial symbol into the design of their state flags.

The Confederate battle flag has also been appropriated by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist hate groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 500 extremist groups use the Southern Cross as one of their symbols.

Armstrong contends that the flag display was donated to the county by a group that cannot be located.

When left to no other recourse to voice their strong opinion they turned to The Voice of The Community-The Sentinel- and are now speaking for themselves.

Last update: 08-05-2009 23:50

Published in : News, Local

Users' Comments (8)

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Posted by zw, on 08-06-2009 06:13,

This is 2009.
Not one of the less than 5 years the Confederacy existed before losing in 1865.
IF this flag was Donated, there is no obligation for the County to return it to anyone. IF it was Loaned. Different story. Which is it?
Who and how would anyone exercise such poor judgment of such a flag given the multi-ethnic, culturally diverse city that Los Angeles is, is an insult to a majority of citizens.
We have One Flag, and One Constitution. Let this sit or wave by itself!

Posted by Curlean, on 08-09-2009 06:15,

First I think they should've been outlawed shortly after the civil war. They LOST! Therefore no public displays would have shown up. No one displays "Union Jacks"!

Second and probably most important - Black Folks need to get over it - IF want to reflect how much they embrace a flag that symbolized losers - then at least we definitely know where they stand and who to start with if it ever becomes necessary! This goes all the way down to Dixie itself. I would have never thought one would show up this far west!.

Posted by Patricia, on 08-10-2009 16:21,

To still have small sick minds in this day and age really have to be special, just imagine how sick their off springs are and what their family values really means, any excuse racist use to stair you in the eyes and say I don't have the keys or whatever stupid remark they use must make them a real hero in their mind. Always remember GOD have a hand in this and his will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven..............AMEN

Posted by Alanna, on 08-12-2009 03:34,

The flag is a symbol of what the Confederacy stood for, just like the nazi flag against jews, this is a flag against slavery and in particular african americans...so why on earth would any one want to be proud to have it on their cars, out the front of shops or houses or be forced to view it everyday they go to work.

Posted by Harold Winston, on 08-12-2009 12:35,

The excuse that the building manager "can't find the key" to this racist flag display is as ridiculous as it is unacceptable. It shouldn't take a newspaper article and multiple agency contacts to have it removed; should only take a phone call. Paging Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Mark Ridley-Thomas to save the day! (again)

Posted by Raquel, on 08-12-2009 13:53,

By including the Confederate Flag in an American History Display, you have destroyed the core values and images of what America stands for. The majority of Americans do not view the Confederate Flag as a symbol of cultural heritage, but instead as a symbol of a time in America in which humans were deprived of rights. As an example, the State of South Carolina placed the flag above their Statehouse in 1962 as a response to the Civil Rights Movement, a direct contradiction to the freedoms that Americans enjoy and have fought for. In fact, the flag has come to represent such an anti-American stance, that it has become a symbol of extreme hate groups, such as the Klu Klux Klan. It is a racist symbol and there should be no more discussion as to whether or not is SHOULD be removed, but an urgency on the part of the COUNTY, to have it removed NOW!

Posted by Sharon Williams, on 08-12-2009 14:50,

What I don't understand is how the County can remove the cross from the county seal because it offended some people, but they can't find a simple key to remove this oppressive symbol that offends us.

Posted by zw, on 08-12-2009 21:58,

On the subject of the removal of a cross from a seal or public land.
Maybe it's time to instead use an acronym like "GC" or create a symbol accompanied with a cross use with a cross representing "Good Conscience." Not the one someone might claim to have, but the one they actually exercise, like living righteously.
Each represents a challenge and will not be w/o it's challenges, or high's and low's of Life, but living faithfully by the "Word or Good Conscience are two like practices."

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