2-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2015-THE CAROLINA TIMES
Ole Miss removes Mississippi flag with Confederate emblen
By Emily Wagster Pettus and Jeff Amy
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - The University of Mississippi
quietly pulled down the state flag on Oct. 26, deciding
that the 121-year-old banner’s Confederate battle emblem
sends a harmful message in this age of diversity.
Acting under the order of Interim Chancellor Morris
Stocks, three campus police officers furled the flag before
most students were awake, taking it down from a circle of
honor between the white-columned administration build
ing and a marble statue of a saluting Confederate soldier.
A group of university leaders met Sunday night (Oct.
25) and agreed to take it down, days after the student and
faculty senates urged its removal from the Oxford cam
pus, a bastion for Southern elites since its founding in
1848.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Durham Board of County Commissioners solicits
applicants to fill positions on the following citizen boards
and commissions:
• Boxing and Wrestling Commission (1 At-Large Position)
• Community Child Protection Team/Child Fatality
Prevention Team (2 Positions - 1 Fireman/EMS
Personnel and 1 (Parent of) Death of Child before 18)
• Historic Preservation Commission (1 Position - 1
Attorney)
• Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee (3 At-
Large Positions)
• Planning Commission (1 Position - 1 Triangle Township)
• Public Health Board (1 Position - 1 Engineer)
• Transportation Advisory Board (1 At-Large Position)
Property tax listing must be current. County and City taxes
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*Please note that appointment schedules may change
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“Because the flag remains Mississippi’s official ban
ner, this was a hard decision. 1 understand the flag repre
sents tradition and honor to some. But to others, the flag
means that some members of the Ole Miss family are not
welcomed or valued,’ Stocks’ statement said.
The banner will be put on display in the university’s
archives, Stocks told The Associated Press. .
The flag had flown for years in the Lyceum circle,
where deadly white riots broke out in 1962, when James
Meredith enrolled as the university’s first black student,
under a federal court order and with the protection of U.S.
marshals.
A half-century later, federal forces were again keeping
close watch on the Ku Klux Klan as a civil rights group’s
Oct. 16 remove-the-flag rally proved to be the catalyst for
change.
Two Klan members who protested Oct. 22 faculty sen
ate vote were arrested on state weapons charges after
campus police found shotguns and a “Black Lives Don’t
Matter’ sign in their pickup truck, according to an FBI
agent’s request to prosecute both men on federal weap
ons charges. Federal court records show one of the guns
was loaded. At least one of the men had also protested the
NAACP rally.
Today’s students forced this issue as the governor and
most state lawmakers seek re-election on Nov. 3, and
many politicians have avoided staking positions. Not so
Chris McDaniel, a state senator who lost a contentious
Republican primary to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014,
and insisted that “Ole Miss should fly it, as long as they
remain a publicly funded university.’
“Universities are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas,
not cocoons designed for coddling the feelings of the per
petually offended,’ the tea party favorite posted Oct. 26
on his Facebook page.
There was no sign of protest on campus Oct. 26.
"It needed to be removed,’ said Ellie Bond, an inter
national studies major from Flowood, Mississippi, who
wore a T-shirt with a flag that preceded Mississippi's
current banner, featuring a magnolia tree rather than the
battle flag.
Among the student senators who tried to keep the flag
on campus is Andrew Soper, a business major from Tu
pelo. He said he’s not opposed to a redesign, but said “1
think the state flag is a state issue, not a university issue.’
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn said mon
ago that it’s time to change the flag, but his fellow |
publican, Gov. Phil Bryant, declined to call a special
islative session to debate it and said Mississippians th,
selves should to decide the flag’s future.
Since 1894, the Mississippi flag has had the Confei
ate battle emblem in its upper left corner - a blue X y
13 white stars, over a field of red. State voters decide,
2001 to keep it there, the last state flag in the nation
incorporate the divisive symbol.
“I think college students react a lot emotionally,’
governor said after the student senate vote.
He held his ground on Oct. 26.
“Mississippians overwhelmingly voted in 2001
adopt the current Mississippi state flag. 1 believe publi
funded institutions should respect the law as it is »
ten today. It clearly states 'The state flag shall receive
the respect and ceremonious etiquette given the Amer
flag,” Bryant said in a statement.
The law Bryant cited makes displaying the flag opt)
al, not mandatory, at public buildings.
The University of Mississippi has struggled with!
South symbolism for decades. Sports teams remain
Rebels, but the Colonel Rebel mascot was retired,;
fans mostly stopped waving Confederate battle flags a
sticks were banned in the stadium.
Chancellor Dan Jones, who sought to make the can
more racially inclusive, was ousted in March, and n
ofhis supporters suspected he was too liberal on race
the trustees, who are appointed by the governor. Trusi
insisted that he had to go because he resisted finan
changes they wanted at the university’s hospital.
The flag came down just ahead of Thursday’s campus visit by
board’s choice to replace Jones - University of Kansas Provost
frey Vitter - who told the AP in an interview last week that he is,
mitted to diversity, but offered no opinion on the flag.
Athletic director Ross Bjork, who has said the flag makes ret
ing more difficult, was among those who met with the interim c
cellor during the weekend. “I’m just proud our university can It
stand like this. It’s the right thing to do. It helps move us fore
Bjork said.
Football coach Hugh Freeze said removing the flag “is the,
thing for this university, and hopefully our state also will follow
I think it represents adequately our core values of what we wi
be.’
Jeff Amy and David Brandt reported from Oxford, and Emily]
ster Pettus reported from Jackson.
Appointments will be considered by the County
Commissioners on
Monday, December 14, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the
Commissioners’ Meeting Room, second floor, Durham
County Government Administrative Complex, 200 East
Main Street
For applications or additional information, please contact
the
Clerk to the Board’s Office at 560-0025.
Website: www.dconc.gov
Deadline for receipt of applications-5:00 p.m.,
November 30, 2015
DURHAM
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CITY OF MEDICINE
City of Durham
The Department of Community Development will make
available beginning November 3, 2015 plans and
specifications for Site Preparation and Infrastructure
improvements for the second phase of rental development
for the Lofts at Southside.
Beginning on November 10, 2015 plans and specifications
will be available for Site Preparation and Infrastructure
improvements for the second phase of development for the
homeownership effort in Southside.
A copy of the bid documents may be obtained from ARC,
507 Airport Blvd Suite 107, Morrisville, NC 27560 upon
payment of a non-refundable fee of approximately $70 per
set in cash or certified check payable to ARC. To order,
either call ARC at (919-388-9900) or email a request to their
production email at raleigh.iobs@e-arc.com
Additional information on the plans and specifications to
include dates that bid packages will be due can be obtained
by accessing the following websites:
http://durhamnc.qov/bids.aspx
http://durhamnc.qov/445/Community-Development
Additional Contact Information
Florence to
keep plaque
with words
white,’
colored’
FLORENCE, S.C. (AP)
- Florence City Council has
agreed to accept a plaque
with the words “white””
and “colored” memorial
izing men who died in the
First World War.
Local media outlets re
port that council voted 4-3
on Monday to accept the
plaque for the Florence
Veterans Park.
A local American Le
gion post has permission
to move it to the park but
the move was put on hold
because of concern about
the wording. The council
agreed to accept the plaque
and will also put up a sec
ond to explain the wording.
City attorney Jim Pe
terson explained that the
state’s Heritage Act prohib
its changes to a monument
on public grounds without
approval of two-thirds of
the state Legislature.
He said once the city ac
cepts the plaque, it falls un-
Boards,
Committees and
Commissions
Openings
DURHAM
18 6
OTYOf M®'f
The City of Durham is seeking interested citizens to serve on various boards, committi
and commissions. Candidates are appointed by the City Council. Applicants mi
reside in the City limits and City and County taxes must not reflect any delinquency
the time of submission of applications.
Deadline for receiving applications is 5:00 p.m. on the following dates:
Housing Appeals Board
Durham Cultural Advisory Board
Citizens Advisory Committee (term expiring June 30, 2016).
Citizens Advisory Committee (term expiring June 30, 2017..
Durham City-County Appearance Commission
(term expiring April 1, 2018) .
Durham Open Space & Trails Commission (Ward 2)
Human Relations Commission
Citizens Advisory Committee (term expiring June 30, 2018).
Durham City-County Appearance Commission
(term expiring April 1, 2016)
Durham Open Space & Trails Commission (At-Large)
Durham Homeless Services Advisory Committee
.November 16, 21
.November 16, 21
November 16, 20
.November 16, 21
.November 16, 21
November 16, 20
.November 16,20
November 23, 20
November 23, 20
.November 23,21
November 30, 20
For more information, citizens should contact the City Clerk’s Office located on the
Floor of City Hall at 101 City Hall Plaza from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday throu
Friday, telephone 919-560-4166. You may also obtain an application at the City’s Websi
www.durhamhc.gov (Boards, Committees and Commissions).
Che Camilla times
SjjglfiyjTjX^
Durham Annual Action Plan
“Needs” Public Hearing
November 16, 2015 - 7:00 RM
Durham City Council Chamber - City Hall
101 City Hall Plaza
DURHAM
are OF MEDICINE
A public hearing will be held by the Durham City Council to receive citizen comments on the
needs in Durham neighborhoods. It is envisioned that these needs will be addressed through
the use of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, HOME Investment
Partnership Program (HOME) Consortium funds, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds,
and Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) funds, as contained in the
upcoming FY 2015-2016 Annual Action Plan.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has not yet notified the City
of final entitlement amounts for FY 2016-2017. For planning purposes, the City expects to
receive approximately $1,807,500 in CDBG funds, $776,000 in HOME Consortium funds,
$160,000 in ESG funds, and $282,900 in HOPWA funds.
For additional information contact Wilmur Conyers, Federal Programs Coordinator,
Department of Community Development at wilmur.conyers@durhamnc.gov or (919) 560-
4570, ext. 22277.
Notice Under the Americans With Disabilities Act
A person with a disability may receive an auxiliary aid or service to effectively participate in
city government activities by contacting the ADA Coordinator, voice 919-560-4197, fax 919-
560-4196, TTY 919-560-1200, or ADA@durhamnc.gov, as soon as possible, but no later than
48 hours before the event or deadline date.
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