NAACP addresses Confederate memorials at rally
HILLSBOROUGH (WTVD) -- The debate over the Confederate Flag in North Carolina is heating up and Hillsborough has become a battleground of sorts. Two rallies within two days each have a very different message.
The NAACP held a rally Thursday afternoon outside of the Old Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough to promote, what it calls, accurate history on the controversial symbols.
"The truth is the Confederacy was wrong then and its philosophy and symbols and constitutions are just as wrong today," said North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber.
About a hundred people attended, and it was held on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Acts. The landmark legislation that prohibited racial discrimination at the polls.
"50 years after the signing of the Voting Rights Act and 50 days after the terrorist murder of nine souls in Charleston, this is the sad place that we are in with our leadership. It's immoral, it's constitutionally inconsistent, it's economically insane," said Barber.
NAACP leaders say policies in place are protecting the Confederate flag and encouraging racism in the state.
"This governor and legislature are constitutionally out of order," said Barber. "We used to be First in Flight and first in academia and first in university systems. And now, we're first in protecting the confederate flag and its monuments after Charleston."
At the end of last month, Governor Pat McCrory signed a much-debated bill into law that critics say would protect Confederate memorials from being dismantled.
NAACP leaders are now calling on McCrory to use his executive power to ban Confederate flag license plates. The state recently restocked the supply. The specialty plates sold-out in July.
But not everyone agrees with the civil rights organization.
"Up until a few months ago, nobody had an issue with this flag," said Hillsborough resident Jonathan Moss
Moss heard about the NAACP rally and decided to hit the street with his own message. ABC11 spotted him rolling around downtown Hillsborough with a 3X5 Confederate flag attached to the back of his car.
"I wanted to step up for our side," he said. "People say they see hate, but when I see the flag, I don't see hate. I see the south."
Moss is going to a pro-Confederate rally this weekend and feels like flag simply represents southern heritage.
"The flag can't say nothing or demonstrate nothing. It's just flag. People can evolve," said Moss.
The Southern Heritage Rally will take place Saturday in Hillsborough outside of the Town Hall from 2 until 4. Organizers say around 1,500 people are expected to attend.
