According to a Facebook event post by a previously unknown “Southern Rights” group, a rally to support the Confederate flag is taking place tomorrow in Washington, D.C., near the Capitol. More from guest contributor B.R.;
A group known as “Protect the South” is calling for a pro-Confederate rally in the District this Saturday, September 5th. The rally will be held in Upper Senate Park at 11:00AM and 1,300 people claim they will attend on Facebook. These numbers are often unreliable, but this suggests that more than a few people will show up. The Facebook banner for the event features a crowd waving the Confederate battle flag.
The Confederate flag became the center of controversy this summer after white supremacist Dylan Roof murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17th. Roof posted pictures of himself waving the Confederate flag on his Facebook page. Black Lives Matter activists and pro-Confederate demonstrators have been dueling over the symbol all summer. South Carolina took the flag down from its state house grounds in July, after Bree Newsome took the flag down herself weeks earlier. KKK members and anti-racist protesters clashed in Columbia later that month.
No counter-demonstration seems to be planned at the time of this writing.
The “Protect the South” group has organized and attended other protests in the South, including a flag rally in Virginia and a protest to “Ban the NAACP” in Georgia. Most commenters on the Southern Heritage Rally page seemed to show their support for the event, while others expressed outrage. Potential rally attendees have also posted information about a motorcycle ride from the site of the famed Battle of Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania to D.C. to start the rally off. Interestingly, no major news organizations have written about this story, although a number of Facebook users have taken notice. An officer from the Capitol Police Special Events Unit confirmed that an event permit was obtained for part of Upper Senate Park tomorrow.
Written by “B.R.” with contributions from editor J. L.
