Six Flags Over Texas says it will continue to fly its Confederate flag
A major amusement park says it has no plans to remove a Confederate flag its flown for decades.
Six Flags Over Texas has reportedly flown the Confederate States of America flag since the park opened in Arlington, Texas, in 1961, and won't remove the flag despite heated debate over Confederate-era symbols, according to Chron.com. The Confederate flag is one of the six mentioned in the park's name.
The debate over Civil War-related statues and memorials to the Confederacy has grown tense in the wake of recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, that centered around a white nationalist rally. Clashes between people protesting the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and counter-protestors left one woman dead and dozens of people injured.
The amusement park flies the first official flag of the Confederacy, called the "Stars and Bars," over the park's entrance. The flag, which represents the Confederate States of America, is displayed alongside flags from the five different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas (a sovereign country that existed in North America from March 2, 1836, to Feb. 19, 1846) and the United States of America.
"Six Flags Over Texas continues to fly the Confederate States of America Flag and does not fly or sell any variation of the Confederate Battle Flag," Sharon Parker, a Six Flags spokeswoman, told Chron.com.
The company's logo has also featured all six of the flags.
Reminders of the Confederacy, where slavery played a large role, are still widespread in portions of the South. A number of states annually commemorate those who died during the Civil War as part of the Confederacy with Confederate Memorial Day events.
Supporters of such celebrations and monuments say they preserve history and memorialize the dead. Critics argue the icons promote racism by honoring those who fought to uphold slavery.
The debate became particularly heated after June 17, 2015, when nine black parishioners were fatally shot by a white supremacist in a South Carolina church. South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its statehouse grounds following the killings. The city of New Orleans began removing four Confederate monuments in April.
The events in Charlottesville inflamed the debate, prompting some cities – like Baltimore, Maryland, and Gainesville, Florida – to remove their Confederate-era icons.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump again weighed in on the issue, defending the Confederate-era monuments and saying the removal of "our beautiful statutes and monuments" has torn apart the nation's history and culture.
"Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," Trump tweeted. "You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"
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