New specialty plate includes Confederate battle flag
NASHVILLE (AP) — The latest specialty license plate in Tennessee recognizes a Civil War heritage group and features its logo: a Confederate battle flag surrounded by the words ‘Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896.’
The tags now are for sale to 2,300 Tennessee members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans willing to pay an extra $35, half of which will benefit SCV.
While some objected by calling the rebel flag a racist symbol that doesn’t belong on a state license plate, the leader of the SCV in Tennessee said his group is changing perceptions.
‘We have really changed people’s minds on what people think the flag stands for,’ said Tennessee Division commander Skip Earle of Franklin. ‘We’ve really taken the opportunity to use the educational things we have to let people know that our ancestors were not demons or traitors, but American soldiers too.’
Matt Leber, director of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center, said that’s not what people think of first when they see the flag.
‘The Confederate flag has historically been used to symbolize racial oppression against blacks and other minorities,’ he said. ‘And while that might not be the original intent, that is the effect it has for a great number of American citizens. The state should not be a source for expressing viewpoints — we have bumper stickers for that.’
Tennessee joins Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia with SCV specialty plates. The Maryland and Virginia plates were challenged in the courts but ruled permissible on free speech grounds.
Johnnie R. Turner, executive director of the Memphis branch of the NAACP, said she’s disappointed the Tennessee Legislature authorized the SCV plate in 2002.
‘In this day and age when we’re trying to be inclusive, promoting diversity and when we’re developing an appreciation of the uniqueness that each group brings, it is appalling that any one group would have the legal authority to display any emblem or symbol that any segment of the population would find insensitive,’ she said.
‘To give legal sanction that is contrary to what the national agenda should be is unthinkable and inexcusable.’
Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, helped push the legislation to create the plates and has ordered one. McDaniel said he’s ‘very proud’ to have been an SCV member since 1981 and at one time also belonged to Sons of Union Veterans.
‘I think too many times the history of our Confederate ancestors gets pushed back or misrepresented,’ he said. ‘Through this organization we’re able to keep the memory of the sacrifices of the soldiers and families to pass down to the next generation.’
McDaniel said the issue of whether any organization can have specialty plates should be reviewed by lawmakers.
That’s what Gov. Phil Bredesen asked for last year when a controversy arose over a different specialty plate.
He let a bill to create the ‘Choose Life’ plate, which benefits an anti-abortion group, become law without his signature, saying he was concerned the specialty plate program had become too big and too political.
Tennessee chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood have sued the state over the Choose Life plate, saying it restricts free speech.
Tennessee has more than 100 specialty license plates, supporting everything from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to out-of-state colleges.
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On the Net:
Tennessee Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, http://www.tennessee-scv.org/
Sons of Confederate Veterans, http://www.scv.org/