Last week, a group known as "The Defenders for Freedom, Justice &
Equality" announced that they would hold a press conference at the Jefferson
Davis Monument in Richmond, on the opening day of the UCI Bike Races, easily the
largest athletic event our city has ever hosted.
"We want to tell the world that Richmonders
do not support showcasing these monuments of Confederate military and political
leaders during this world-famous sports event," said Ana Edwards, who chairs
the Defenders' Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project. "At a time when
cities across the South are removing these symbols of the oppression of Black
people, it's an embarrassment that our city, the former capital of the
Confederacy, would choose to highlight these statues to a world
audience."
The Virginia Flaggers were
asked by the local media to give a response to this planned press conference
and we issued the following statement:
The Defenders for Freedom,
Justice & Equality is an extremist group who failed at their attempts to
have the UCI bike races rerouted away from the Confederate Monuments that line
Monument Avenue, where tourists from the Commonwealth, the United States, and
around the globe visit just to view and admire the stately monuments and
memorials to our Confederate Heroes.
This group, like so many
others around the country is attempting to exploit an unrelated tragedy in South
Carolina as an excuse to cast aspersion on our Confederate Veterans and force
their lopsided, uneducated, politically correct view of history on all of
Richmond's citizens. Recent polls have shown that the majority
of the citizens of the Commonwealth, including the Governor, do not want to see
any of our Veterans' monuments or memorials disturbed or removed.
This press conference is an
obvious ploy to get publicity and disrupt the planned activities this
weekend. At a time when the citizens of Richmond should be
uniting and putting our best foot forward to welcome so many to our great city,
this group has decided to use the platform to further divide us and stir up
trouble where none exists.
As the proud descendants of
the Confederate soldiers who bravely fought to defend the Commonwealth, we will
not sit by quietly and allow the attempted destruction of our history to
continue. The Va Flaggers have coordinated patrols of the city's
monuments each night since June 26, when one of our folks surprised a vandal in
the act of defacing the Jefferson Davis Monument. Thanks to
information they were able to provide, and evidence left at the scene, the
perpetrator was subsequently arrested and convicted.
Since that time, over four
dozen volunteers, including a father-son duo from Pennsylvania, and a couple who
traveled all the way from Chicago, Illinois, have stepped up to serve as
Monument Guards. We will continue to patrol the monuments as long
as there is any threat of vandalism, and are ready and willing to meet any and
all calls for removal of these priceless treasures with the same fortitude,
determination and perseverance shown by our ancestors some 150 years
ago.
Yesterday, about a dozen
protesters gathered near the Jefferson Davis Monument.
"Ana Edwards, chair of the Defenders Sacred Ground Historical
Reclamation Project, spoke first. She said that the Defenders had reached out to
the UCI Richmond 2015's four chairmen and additionally to the UCI
International Committee in Europe, asking both to change the route. But her
request was rejected.
"We are here today to tell the world that most Richmonders do not
support showcasing these monuments to Confederate military and political leaders
during this world famous sporting event," Edwards said. (From WTVR 6
Report)
She went on to say that the "shooting in Charleston
indicates our work is not done"...called on Richmonders to "Honor black history,
not Confederate shrines"...and insisted that "many are calling for removal of
[statues]"
In planning our counter
to this coming protest, and considering the bike races which would draw
thousands to the area, we decided to hire a banner plane to carry our message.
Contrary to some reports in the media, we never had any
intention of attending the "Defenders of Justice and Equality" Press conference
(at least not on the ground)...and the suggestion that the possibility of our
presence lead to additional police presence is laughable, considering we have
been protesting in Richmond twice a week, for four years, without
incident.
Instead,
and without us even having to be present, a small plane with a huge Battle
Flag and the message "CONFEDERATE HEROES MATTER" buzzed the protesters, race
participants and spectators, and citizens in Richmond and surrounding
counties.
Almost as soon as the
plane took off from a local airport, we started receiving phone calls, texts,
and messages about sightings in New Kent, Hanover, Henrico, and Richmond.
Twitter and FB exploded with reports of a huge Confederate Flag in the air in
Richmond...and about an hour into the flight, we got word that the pilot had
transposed our message, and misspelled the word
"HEROES".
Despite the unfortunate "typo" on the part
of the pilot, the banner plane was a phenomenal success, circling downtown for
two hours with a huge Battle Flag and a message that was perfectly clear, seen
by thousands (including those gathered to protest our monuments) and, judging
from the firestorm created on social media, obviously served to cause quite a
few Anti-Confederate haters' heads to explode on (visual) contact.
The
topic of conversation at the press conference, in the media, and on social media
throughout the afternoon changed from removing monuments...to
the appearance of the Confederate Air Force at the bike races in
Richmond...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Meanwhile, across town, our folks were enjoying the day
at the Field Day of the Past. Our booth was busy all day, with hundreds of
people stopping by to show their support and pick up Confederate flags,
t-shirts, and stickers. We gave away over 1,000 stickers in the first two
days, and were thrilled with the attendance and positive response.
Huge crowds, beautiful weather,
selling out of flags, and overwhelming support.
But this story is the
highlight of the afternoon..
These gentleman approached our table.
They told us that they had written reports on Karen and her defense of
Confederate Heritage for a school assignment. They were thrilled to meet her in
person, and we were honored to chat with them. Karen signed a copy of
"Give This Book To A Yankee", a book folks at Sea Raven Press, by which
includes her forward, and we presented it to them.
The future of the
South is in good hands with young men like these.
By the way...they both
got A's.
We leave you with this brief video clip of the
banner plane as it buzzed the press conference. Might be the best 15 seconds
you spend today. Â :)
God bless all those who worked so hard to make
yesterday such a HUGE Confederate success, those who helped fund the banner
plane ...and GOD SAVE THE SOUTH!
The Virginia Flaggers
