Dear County Commissioners (LTTE|FL)

[struggle4progress]

... Unless a Walton county soldier fought with the Army of Tennessee or the 6th Florida Regiment (Volunteers), this was not a flag they followed into battle. I also find it ironic that people have forgotten that it was two representatives from Walton County who voted against secession. From my studies, it wasn't until the Asboth Raid in 1864 that sentiments finally tipped against the union in Walton County .

The only reason it flies on County property today is because in April of 1964, the County petitioned the Florida Park Board to erect a historical plaque on the courthouse lawn next to the monument and to erect the "flag." What was happening at that time? Integration ... civil rights ... voting rights for African-Americans ... who had appropriated that flag for their use and purposes? The KKK. How does a flag which they never fought under have anything to do with honoring the memory of the Confederate dead from Walton County ? It doesn't have anything to do with honoring their memory ...

To listen to the hate-filled language being spewed from all corners of Walton County by people who say the flag is about "heritage" and yet essentially say if you don't like our heritage, go home, makes me ill. Walton County isn't just their home. It is home for all residents regardless of color, creed, religion, or nation of origin. What that sort of language reveals to me is both an ignorance of history and racism that is alive and well today ...

Be courageous. Do the right thing. That flag belongs nowhere in Walton county, but especially not on County property. Encase the actual battle flags of those veterans who fought for the South and place them in a museum. Think about your constituents who are deeply troubled by that flag flying in plain site as they remember their own ancestors who were slaves ...

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/letter-dear-county-commissioners-1.498121

[marble falls]

1. Thank you for a wonderful article about the Dixie rag's inappropriate displayin Walton County, Tn...

inappropriate for such a wide variety reasons, moral and historical.