Rasp
Senior Editor
Confederate flag controversy
Confederate Flag Controversy
Love it or hate it, there's no way you can miss it.
A southern sign on 460 East is one of two billboards in our area getting attention and raising a few eyebrows.
Tom Blanks, Sons of Confederate Veterans: "We can easily see how this is believed to promote slavery... It is not."
Commander Tom Blanks with the Lynchburg camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans says the billboard that boasts their name isn't out to offend, but rather to educate.
Blanks: "I think over the years, historians have turned it around into making everyone believe that it was all over slavery.... The Confederate flag
itself is a symbol that has been misconstrued."
It's a symbol that's also in his blood.
For Tom, the Confederate flag is a little more personal because his great, great, great grandfather Henry Puckett served in the Confederate Army.
But not everyone has such a close connection to the billboard's message.
James Coleman, Jr.: "Well, the first thing that would come to my mind is a notion of hate."
Pastor James Coleman Junior is running for Lynchburg City Council.
He says many see the confederate flag as a dividing line between races... a line that shouldn't exist.
Coleman: "Beneath the surface is an understanding of heritage and an appreciation of the South and the history of America."
It's that history Tom says the South can't turn its back on.
Blanks: "It is part of our culture, it is part of our heritage and I would not like to see it put away, tucked away simply b/c it's been misrepresented."
Watch this video to see wha
t all the blue-gummed flap is about:
Confederate flag controversy
Confederate Flag Controversy
Love it or hate it, there's no way you can miss it.
A southern sign on 460 East is one of two billboards in our area getting attention and raising a few eyebrows.
Tom Blanks, Sons of Confederate Veterans: "We can easily see how this is believed to promote slavery... It is not."
Commander Tom Blanks with the Lynchburg camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans says the billboard that boasts their name isn't out to offend, but rather to educate.
Blanks: "I think over the years, historians have turned it around into making everyone believe that it was all over slavery.... The Confederate flag
itself is a symbol that has been misconstrued."
It's a symbol that's also in his blood.
For Tom, the Confederate flag is a little more personal because his great, great, great grandfather Henry Puckett served in the Confederate Army.
But not everyone has such a close connection to the billboard's message.
James Coleman, Jr.: "Well, the first thing that would come to my mind is a notion of hate."
Pastor James Coleman Junior is running for Lynchburg City Council.
He says many see the confederate flag as a dividing line between races... a line that shouldn't exist.
Coleman: "Beneath the surface is an understanding of heritage and an appreciation of the South and the history of America."
It's that history Tom says the South can't turn its back on.
Blanks: "It is part of our culture, it is part of our heritage and I would not like to see it put away, tucked away simply b/c it's been misrepresented."
Watch this video to see wha
t all the blue-gummed flap is about:
Confederate flag controversy