Like its neighbors Georgia and Mississippi, Alabama in the late twentieth century found itself confronted by a movement led by Black activists and lawmakers to remove the Confederate flag from its state capitol.
Unlike its neighboring states, Alabama did not include the Confederate battle symbol in its official state flag. But it did fly the Confederate battle flag on top of its capitol for a number of decades. Most current news sources date the start of this practice to April 25, 1963, when then-Governor George Wallace raised the flag on the same day he met with President John F. Kennedy about school desegregation.[1]
While this was the initial date of the flag’s continuous position above the capitol dome, it had flown there before at least as early as the 1920’s. This is recorded in an article published in the Afro-American. In 1922, the staff wrote:
Alabama rebels still think that Jefferson Davis won the Civil war. Nothing else can explain why the Confederate flag is raised over the State Capitol here instead of the union jack while the legislature is in session… [2]
The flag was raised again temporarily at least once more before 1963, when Governor John Patterson had it flown for several days in 1961 to celebrate the centennial of the Civil War.[3]
Wallace’s decision to have the flag hoisted permanently above the capitol dome was challenged in the state legislature in 1975, when Representative Alvin Holmes introduced a resolution to replace it with the US flag. Holmes contended that the “Confederate flag represents suppression and slavery [and] sedition and treason.”[4] His proposal, though, was roundly defeated in a 78–13 vote. Only one white representative voted with twelve Black representatives in favor of the bill.[5]
In late 1987, the NAACP began a lobbying campaign to have the flag removed from the capitol.[6] This led to a January, 1988 meeting between Governor Guy Hunt and Alabama NAACP President and State Representative Thomas Reed, who had previously “threatened to rip the flag down himself.” Despite Hunt continuing to insist that he would not remove the flag unless the state legislature ordered him to, Reed was quoted in the New Journal and Guide as stating that the meeting gave him a “ray of hope.”[7]
Unfortunately, this “ray of hope,” seemed to be extinguished quickly—so quickly that the New Journal and Guide could not keep up with the change. Although the meeting between Reed and Hunt happened in late January, the New Journal and Guide did not publish their article on the meeting until the following week, on February 3rd. On February 2nd, Reed, along with thirteen other members of the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, including Alvin Holmes, attempted to physically remove the flag from the capitol building.
As they tried to climb the fence surrounding the capitol building, all fourteen participants were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing. They were all quickly released on a $300 bond. Reed’s lawyer, Troy Massey, argued in court that the act had been purely symbolic:
There was never any real intention on the part of the legislators to physically go up and rip down the flag, but rather the purpose of the demonstration was to draw state, national, and international attention to the fact that…something needed to be done in 1988 to remove that vestige of discrimination.[8]
In 1989, all fourteen legislators were found guilty and given a $100 court fine.[9]
Following this incident, Holmes again introduced a proposal to the state legislature for the Confederate flag to be removed from the capitol building. He stated that “To fly the Confederate flag over Alabama would be the equivalent to flying the flag of Adolf Hitler over Israel.”[10] The Philadelphia Tribune, in their reporting on this event, highlighted the racial divide over this issue, stating that Holmes was “defeated on a vote by his white colleagues.”[11]
Black legislators were not alone in their insistence that the flag be removed . In 1990, an unidentified man stole the flag from atop the capitol in the middle of the night. The capitol police told the Associated Press (AP) they assumed that the person who stole the flag was the same individual who had called local news organizations proclaiming “racism must fall” and claiming to work for an organization called the “justice league.” No officials had ever heard of this group before. Those who received the calls believed the individual was a young white man. The stolen Confederate battle flag was quickly replaced.[12]
In July of 1992, the Alabama Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution asking Gov. Hunt to remove the flag, arguing that such racist imagery was hurting the state economically and dissuading companies from building infrastructure there.[13] According to an AP report published in the New Pittsburgh Courier, Hunt did not find this resolution persuasive. His press aide told reporters that polls showing that 80 percent of white Alabamians and 50 percent of Black Alabamians approved of the flag influenced Hunt’s position. The aide refused to identify the polls he was referring to.[14]
The flag was removed later that year, however, when the capitol building went under significant restoration. The intention was that it would be returned when the construction was complete, but an early 1993 court ruling prevented its reinstalment. Alvin Holmes and several other legislators filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that Alabama law does not allow for the flying of any flag besides the state and national flags over the capitol building.[15] Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Gordon ruled in their favor.[16]
Some assumed Gov. Hunt would try to appeal this ruling. But if that was the plan, he never got the chance to execute it. In April of that year, Hunt was forced to resign after being convicted of state ethics violations related to his use of inaugural finances.[17] Jim Folsom Jr. assumed the governor’s office and decided to have the flag raised at a Confederate memorial on capitol grounds rather than make an appeal to the court to have it reinstalled on the building itself. Folsom argued “It is time we put it behind us and move our state forward.” The New Pittsburgh Courier published an AP report that claimed this decision garnered praise from Black politicians and business leaders.[18]
In June 2015, one week after the mass murder of Black worshippers in South Carolina by white supremacist Dylann Roof, the Confederate battle flag was removed from the memorial by order of Governor Robert Bentley.[19]
Olivia Haynie
Please cite as:
Haynie, Olivia. “‘Equivalent to Flying the Flag of Adolf Hitler Over Israel’: The Confederate Battle Flag Atop Alabama’s Capitol.” False Image of History: Perspectives on Confederate Commemoration from the Black Press (online). Fall 2024 Edition. Schaefer, Donovan O., ed. URL = https://falseimage.pennds.org/essay/“equivalent-to-flying-the-flag-of-adolf-hitler-over-israel”-the-confederate-battle-flag-atop-alabama’s-capitol/.
References
Afro-American (Baltimore, MD). “Confederate Flag Floats Over The Alabama Capitol.” February 17, 1922.
Alabama Journal. ”Chamber calls for Stars and Bars.” July 31, 1992.
Associated Press. “Alabama won’t fly rebel flag.” Philadelphia Tribune, June 16, 1995.
Associated Press. “Chamber of Commerce Wants Confederate Battle Flag Off Alabama State Capitol.” New Pittsburgh Courier, August 22, 1992.
Associated Press. “NAACP wants remnants of Confederacy out of South’s flags.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, December 31, 1987.
Carlson, Morgan. “History of the Confederate flag on Alabama Capitol grounds.” WSFA, June 22, 2015, https://www.wsfa.com/story/29380544/history-of-the-confederate-flag-on-alabama-capitol-grounds/.
CBS. “Confederate flags taken down from Alabama capitol.” June 24, 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/confederate-flags-alabama-capitol/
New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA). “‘Ray of Hope’ in Alabama dispute.” February 3, 1988.
Philadelphia Tribune. “Alabama legislators say Confederate flag ‘insult’ to Blacks.” April 29, 1988.
Rawls, Phillip. “Alabama’s New Governor Removes Confederate Battle Flag.” New Pittsburgh Courier, May 22, 1993.
United Press International. “Rebel Flag Flying in Alabama.” New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA), August 16, 1975.
Weaver, Kendal. “Confederate flag stolen from Alabama Capitol.” Philadelphia Tribune, October 9, 1990.
Wikipedia. “Alabama State Capitol.” Accessed June 25, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_State_Capitol#Confederate_Memorial_Monument.
Wikipedia. “Guy Hunt.” Accessed June 26, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Guy_Hunt.
Wikipedia. “Thomas Reed (Alabama politician).” Accessed June 25, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas\_Reed\_(Alabama_politician)#References.
Wikipedia. “Alabama State Capitol.” ↩︎
Afro-American (Baltimore, MD). “Confederate Flag Floats Over The Alabama Capitol.” This article is not currently available online. ↩︎
Wikipedia. “Alabama State Capitol.” ↩︎
United Press International. “Rebel Flag Flying in Alabama.” New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA). ↩︎
United Press International. “Rebel Flag Flying in Alabama.” New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA). ↩︎
Associated Press. “NAACP wants remnants of Confederacy out of South’s flags.” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA), “‘Ray of Hope’ in Alabama dispute.” ↩︎
Philadelphia Tribune, “Alabama legislators say Confederate flag ‘insult’ to Blacks.” ↩︎
Wikipedia. “Thomas Reed (Alabama politician).” ↩︎
Philadelphia Tribune, “Alabama legislators say Confederate flag ‘insult’ to Blacks.” ↩︎
Philadelphia Tribune, “Alabama legislators say Confederate flag ‘insult’ to Blacks.” ↩︎
Weaver, “Confederate flag stolen from Alabama Capitol.” Philadelphia Tribune. ↩︎
Alabama Journal. ”Chamber calls for Stars and Bars.” Not a Black news source. ↩︎
Associated Press. “Chamber of Commerce Wants Confederate Battle Flag Off Alabama State Capitol.” New Pittsburgh Courier. This article is not currently available online. ↩︎
Carlson, “History of the Confederate flag on Alabama Capitol grounds.” WSFA. ↩︎
Associated Press, “Alabama won’t fly rebel flag.” Philadelphia Tribune. ↩︎
Rawls, “Alabama’s New Governor Removes Confederate Battle Flag.” New Pittsburgh Courier. ↩︎
CBS, “Confederate flags taken down from Alabama capitol.” ↩︎