NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is calling for the ban of Confederate flags at races in response to the death of George Floyd.
Wallace, NASCAR’s only black driver and the first since 1971, recently wore an “I can’t breathe” shirt at one of his races following Floyd’s death and says that one of the next steps to ensure people feel safe at races is to remove Confederate flags, according to the Hill.
“No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. It starts with Confederate flags,” Wallace told CNN’s Don Lemon. “Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”
“There’s going to be a lot of angry people that carry those flags proudly, but it’s time for change,” he added. “We have to change that, and I encourage NASCAR to have those conversations to remove those flags.”
On Tuesday, Wallace posted a video of fellow NASCAR drivers speaking out against racism with the caption, “We will listen and learn!#BlackLivesMattters.”
We will listen and learn!#BlackLivesMattters pic.twitter.com/AYoYdY8IlX
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) June 7, 2020
Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis, can be seen in a video lying on the ground while a white police officer kneels on his neck for almost nine minutes until he loses consciousness. The death has sparked peaceful protests, violent riots, calls to defund the police, and increased calls for the removal of Confederate imagery.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced earlier this month his intention to remove a statue of former Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
“Think about the message this sends to people coming from around the world to visit the capital city of one of the largest states in the country,” Northam argued. “Or to young children. What do you say when a 6-year-old African American little girl looks you in the eye and says, ‘What does this big statue mean? Why is it here?'”
Protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, defaced a Confederate monument with spray paint, threw rocks at it, and tried to topple it with a thick rope. The mayor of the city supported the move by showing up with a megaphone and promising to “finish the job for them.”
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument was gone two days later.
