The Confederate flag is coming back to Marion County, Florida–after officials voted unanimously to bring it back to their county’s government office complex in Ocala, Florida.
The flag had been taken down on Thursday and replaced with a flag simply showing the seal of Marion County, following a decision by the interim county supervisor, in the wake of nationwide controversy over the flag as a racist symbol.
Last month, Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old man who shot up an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing 9, was accused of using the flag to further his racial carnage.
Photos later were found showing Roof posing with the Confederate flag, which were posted to a website where he also apparently listed a racial manifesto.
Since then, the Confederate flag has been targeted–not just by liberals, but from both sides of the aisle. Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, where the shooting occurred, called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the state capitol.
Even corporations, like top national retailers Walmart and eBay, have banned the sale of Confederate-themed items.
However, after a few weeks of bad press for the Confederate flag, it appears that much of the controversy has lifted. Now, at least one American county that had banned the flag from flying on public property has decided to turn around and stand by their heritage.
In Marion County, the Confederate flag reappeared outside the government complex within minutes of the vote to restore the flag to its pole. It remains part of a larger display, showing the five national flags that have flown over Florida since it was discovered by Europeans: Spanish, French, British, American, and Confederate. A show of history, not prejudice.
