WATCH ABOVE: A community group in Nova Scotia says the confederate flag has no place in the province. That group made it loud and clear Wednesday at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church they want the flag banned. Global’s Dave Squires reports.
HALIFAX – A community group in Nova Scotia says the Confederate flag has no place in the province and they want it banned.
The Nova Scotian Citizens Against White Supremacy held a news conference today at Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. Organizer Isaac Slaney calls the flag a symbol of white supremacy and racism.
“Not in our name, no racist fascist symbols should be publicly displayed in this province,” said Slaney
The movement was sparked when activist Lynn Jones spotted the flag on a pick-up truck in her hometown of Truro.
“I was shocked, I was really shocked. I shook, I literally shook. I was appalled and I thought this is really really scary. I was afraid,” said Jones
She says she went to the police and government officials but they did nothing. Now she and other members are taking matters into their own hands by organizing marches and distributing petitions asking government to ban the flag.
The Confederate flag has been a lightning rod of controversy recently. A white supremacist killed nine African Americans in June at an historic church in South Carolina. That resulted in the flag being removed from the state capital.
Chike Jeffers attended today’s meeting in Halifax with his son. He says he hopes that he doesn’t have to grow up in a world with these symbols of racism.
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“I hope we can create an environment where people don’t have to be exposed to hate speech,” said Jeffers.
Activist Carol Millet says the onus is on white people to change the images and the language. She calls racism a white person’s problem and government the ones that need to take facilitate change.
“White skin people should be here in droves,” said Millet
The group says some have argued being able to display the flag is a form of free speech. But they say that’s not the case when symbols of racism are involved.
“Well I have a right to live in a society that’s not racist and does not carry these symbols,” said Jones
The group is hoping to use education to the get their message heard. They say if people know the history behind the Confederate flag and the pain it represents, people would be less likely to display it.
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