BENTON, Ky. (AP) - A Confederate flag recently put up out outside a Kentucky courthouse is drawing criticism amid calls for its permanent removal, echoing national debate over the divisive Civil War-era symbol.
Members of the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans paid for the flag and raised it in front of the government building in Benton, the seat of that western Kentucky county, Marshall County Commissioner Justin Lamb told news outlets.
He said it was being flown solo to recognize April as Confederate History Month, but it could eventually become part of a permanent Civil War monument that may also include a Union flag, The Paducah Sun reported over the weekend.
Marshall County Judge Executive Kevin Neal approved the installation following the group’s request about a year ago, Lamb told WPSD-TV.
For years, local and state governments have hotly debated - and often relocated - many Confederate-era flags and other monuments from sites around the U.S. Critics say the Confederate flag is a racist symbol, recalling past discrimination and slavery. Supporters say such symbols merely reflect Southern history.
Critics of the flag have included a former county sheriff and an NAACP leader in Kentucky. The flag’s presence has also ignited heated debate on social media by community members and others.
Raoul Cunningham, president of the NAACP’s Louisville branch, spoke out against the flag in an email interview with The Courier Journal, saying the community needs to cast aside a divisive symbol at a much-needed time of unity amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“This a time we should all be standing together and not raising divisive issues such as the Confederate Flag on government property,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether the flag would remain up permanently. Lamb and Neal did not immediately respond to The Courier Journal’s requests for comment.
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