I support the efforts of Jeremiah Treece, a student at Booker T. Washington Magnet High School in Montgomery, to change the flag of the city of Montgomery.
Anyone familiar with the Confederate battle flag that was later incorporated into the official flag of the Confederate States of America, and the grey uniforms of Confederate soldiers must see the reflections of them in the imagery of the city flag, which was adopted in 1952 during the days of segregation and glorification of the “Lost Cause.”
What is wrong with imagery of the Confederacy being used by the city officially today? It is a silent endorsement of slavery, the preservation of which was the reason for secession and the Confederacy in the first place. Montgomery was the birthplace of the Confederacy, and the current official flag of the city of Montgomery reminds us of that.
We can remember Montgomery being the birthplace of the Confederacy without promoting the Confederacy today, with official symbols that should represent all of the people and today, instead of an elite of yesterday, especially considering that most citizens of Montgomery are not white.