Information about Georgia State Flag 

Flag removed from riverwalk

Web posted Friday, September 17, 2004
By Sylvia Cooper | Staff Writer

Augusta Mayor Bob Young ordered a Confederate flag removed from the flag display at Riverwalk Augusta on Wednesday.

Charles Smith, the president of the Augusta Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, asked Mr. Young to remove the flag, according to a news release from the mayor's office.

"The decision was made in consultation with representatives of the Augusta Commission, the Augusta business community and the Augusta hospitality industry, all of whom support the action that was taken," Mr. Young stated in the news release.

On Friday, a city of Augusta flag had been raised where a Confederate States Banner, the official Confederate flag from May 1, 1863, to March 4, 1865, once flew.

Mr. Young declined to discuss the issue with The Augusta Chronicle, but Dr. Smith commended the mayor and commissioners.

"The main thing is the mayor, commissioners and the NAACP want unity in the community, and we don't think the flag should be a stumbling block to bringing us together."

Dr. Smith said the decision to press for the flag's removal was not prompted by pressure from the South Carolina NAACP, which will hold its state convention in Augusta this fall.

"We need to make sure anytime citizens walk on the riverwalk and visit the Radisson Hotel, they won't be offended by anything that's there," Dr. Smith said.

The convention will bring an estimated $1 million into the local economy, and Augusta Commissioner Bobby Hankerson said anything that hurts business and causes division can be done without.

"I think there's a proper place for all that," he said. "I think in the museums."

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.