Virginia Flaggers
The Virginia Flaggers are a group, organized by Susan Hathaway in 2011,[1] that has been active in raising the Confederate battle flag in various parts of Virginia. They have raised large Confederate battle flags along Interstate 95, Interstate 81, and Interstate 64. Often these flag raisings have been carried out in response to the steps taken by local governments, along with public and private institutions, to remove or re-locate Confederate iconography. The original impetus for the organization's founding was the removal of a Confederate battle flag in front of the Confederate Memorial Chapel in Richmond, Virginia, which at one point was part of a soldiers' home for Confederate veterans.[2]
Contents
Flag raisings
I-95
There were several flag raisings along I-95 as part of the organization's Battle Flag Project. In 2013, an I-95 flag was raised in Chesterfield, Virginia. In November 2013, the Flaggers reported the theft of a $20,000 excavator used to clear trees so that the flag could be better seen from the highway, prompting Grayson Jennings, a member of the group, to remark, "We better not catch whoever is doing it. That is all I have to say."[3]
The I-95 flag raised in Stafford County, Virginia in 2014 was 20-by-30 feet and was said by Flagger spokesman Barry Isenhour to honor the approximately 250,000 Confederate soldiers who fought in battles near Fredericksburg.[4]
The I-95 flag raised in Stafford County in 2015 was 30-by-22 feet and hung on a 90-foot pole.[5]
The I-95 raised in February 2016 was designated the "I-95 Wade Hampton Prince George Memorial Battle Flag".[6] It was raised 80 feet high in Prince George County, Virginia.
Other locations
In July 2015 the group raised a 30-by-50 foot flag, one of the largest in the country, near Danville, Virginia along the U.S. Route 29 in Virginia bypass.[7]
In 2017, the Flaggers flew an 8 foot-by-8 foot Confederate flag on a 35-foot pole near the Chesapeake Expressway toll plaza.[8]
Also in 2017, the Rockbridge County Tourism Corridor Overlay Review Board denied a request by the group to have an 80-foot pole on which to fly a Confederate flag along U.S. Route 60 in Virginia, saying the flagpole was too close to the highway.[9] After the group refused to remove it, they were fined $400.[10]
Marches, demonstrations, and parades
In September 2015, Flaggers responded to a protest against statues of Confederate leaders on Monument Avenue during the first day of training for the UCI Road World Championships by having the Confederate Air Force fly a small plane with a Confederate battle flag and the phrase "Confederate heros matter".[11]
In January 2016, the Flaggers filed a request to hold a parade in Lexington, Virginia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Their offer to swap permits with an anti-racism group that planned to march two days earlier, on the day that traditionally has been reserved for a parade to celebrate Lee-Jackson Day, was declined, and they cancelled their parade.[12]
In March 2016, Flaggers stood in front of the Confederate Monument on the corner of High Street and Randolph Street in Farmville, Virginia with Confederate flags.[5]
Controversy
The Flaggers deny any racist undertones to their flag raising. Virginia Flagger Robbie Price claims that it is a symbol of much-needed unity in America, arguing, "the South is more together than the northern states and the whole US country."[5]
One proposed response to the group's flag raising in Richmond has been to put up a billboard next to it for countermessaging.[13]
References
Note: this article was originally started and deleted on another wiki.
Messner, Marcus (20 September 2015). "Interview with Susan Hathaway, Virginia Flaggers". YouTube.
Levin, Kevin M. (21 September 2016). "For the Virginia Flaggers, It's Hate, Not Heritage".
Gentilviso, Chris (6 November 2013). "Virginia Flaggers' Construction Equipment Stolen From I-95 Confederate Flag Site" – via Huff Post.
Reuters (3 June 2014). "Virginia Group Raises Another Massive Confederate Flag Over Highway" – via Huff Post.
@_HalParker, Halle Parker | Sports Editor. "Virginia Flaggers face mixed reviews in Farmville".
"Virginia Flaggers to raise third Confederate Battle Flag over I-95". 12 February 2016.
Bee, Trevor Metcalfe Danville Register &. "Virginia Flaggers in Danville raise one of largest Confederate flags in the country".
McCabe, Robert. "Virginia Flaggers Raise New Confederate Flag Near Toll Plaza".
WDBJ7, Associated Press ;. "Virginia Flaggers remove banner along highway, vow to raise it again soon".
Reporter, Rob Manch- (6 April 2017). "Review board denies application for 80-foot Confederate Flagpole".
981-3239, Laurence Hammack laurence.hammack@roanoke.com. "Virginia Flaggers withdraw MLK Day parade request".
http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/countering-the-confederates/Content?oid=1932217
