National parks will no longer sell Confederate flag memorabilia, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said Thursday.
Jarvis said the killing of nine African Americans by 21-year-old Dylann Roof, who was influenced by white supremacist groups, at an historic black church in Charleston, S.C., and the debate over the flag’s meaning in modern times propelled the decision.
“As that discussion spread across the country,” Jarvis said, “one of our largest cooperating associations, Eastern National, began to voluntarily remove from the park stores that it manages any items that depict a Confederate flag as its primary feature. I’ve asked other cooperating associations, partners and concession providers to withdraw from sale items that solely depict a Confederate flag.”
Some Confederate flags, however, may remain visible at the parks. The National Park Service said the Confederate flag would be permitted in instances where it serves a historical or educational purpose.
GOP South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, along with the state’s federal delegation, urged state legislation to take down the Confederate flag that flies at the state capitol in Columbia. The flag can’t officially be removed unless the state legislature passes a bill to do so.
Civil rights activists have long called for the removal of the flag because they said it was a reminder of slavery and a symbol for racial intolerance. Some conservatives, especially in the South, contend the flag is about cultural heritage.
The Charleston tragedy sparked a quick response from political leaders on both sides of the aisle, as Haley’s call for the flag’s removal from the capitol grounds drew backing from Republicans and Democrats alike. It also has spurred political leaders in Mississippi to reconsider its flag, which contains the Confederate flag. The state’s two GOP Sens. Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran have called for a change.
