Confederate flags have been removed from South Carolina’s Fort Sumter per a National Park Service directive barring Confederate flags in “units of the National Park system and related sites” with few exceptions.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when South Carolinians fired on federals stationed in Fort Sumter.
According to the Washington Examiner, National Park Service director Jonathan Jarvis sent the following directive relating to the Confederate flag:
Confederate flags shall not be flown in units of the National Park system and related sites with the exception of specific circumstances where the flags provide historic context. … All superintendents and program managers should evaluate how Confederate flags are used … and remove the flags where appropriate.
Of all the texts contained in the directive, only the words “shall not be flown” are in bold.
Because of the historicity of the site–the fact it was where the first shots of the Civil War were fired–many have argued that the necessary “historic context” for the Confederate flag is clear. But WMBF reports that the National Park Service has yet to concur. Rather, “a spokesperson at Fort Sumter said the site doesn’t meet the exception for the flag to be flown right now.”
On June 26 Breitbart News reported that the Gettysburg National Military Park bookstore pulled all items “featuring the Confederate flag” from its shelves. The bookstore’s actions were prompted by a National Park Service request, wherein “concessionaries” were asked to quit selling the Confederate flag following the attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him direclty at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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