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American Morning
Flag Feud in Georgia
Aired January 20, 2003 - 07:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today, the nation is paying tribute to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will speak in Atlanta, which is, of course, King's home town, and he'll be there to honor the civil rights leader.
King's dream was to bring America's blacks and whites closer together, but now there's a big controversy over the Confederate flag in the state of Georgia.
Let's check in with Brian Cabell.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
The Martin Luther King Day celebration gets under way here a little later this morning at 10:00 here at Ebenezer Baptist Church. There will be the traditional service on Martin Luther King Day. This is, of course, where Martin Luther King once preached.
But ironically, another kind of issue is dominating headlines this year. There is now serious talk here in Georgia of returning to the old controversial Georgia state flag.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL (voice-over): The old Georgia flag, prominently featuring the Confederate battle emblem, may have been voted out by the state legislature two years ago, but its boosters still fly it high. Many Georgians have never accepted the new flag with its tiny battle emblem.
DAN COLEMAN, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: This change that was made in 2001 was just basically shoved down the peoples' throats by just a very few people, and we believe that the people of this state should have some expression of what they want to represent them.
CABELL: The change in flags was engineered by former Governor Roy Barnes, an attempt to finally lay this contentious issue to rest. But it backfired on Barnes, because his Republican opponent last year, Sonny Perdue, campaigned on the pledge to give Georgians a voice on the new flag, keep it or drop it. Perdue won in an upset. Now he's keeping his pledge.
GOV. SONNY PERDUE (R), GEORGIA: What I want is for the majority of Georgians to speak in a way that sends a clear signal to the citizens of this state that that's their choice.
CABELL: He supports a non-binding referendum on the flag with the expectation that the legislature would then abide by the will of the voters. If the old flag were reinstated, with its history not only of the Confederacy, but of segregation, some here fear a return to racial strife.
MERLE BLACK, EMORY UNIVERSITY: It probably would set off a boycott, an economic boycott by the NAACP and other civil rights organizations in Georgia that would have a major economic impact on the city of Atlanta and other parts of Georgia.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: I think many organizations, groups that hold conferences, sports groups, would probably boycott the state. People don't want to be identified with the dark past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL: The referendum on the flag will likely take place this fall sometime. National Republicans aren't crazy about the issue, because it's tied to the Republican, Sonny Perdue. They would like to dispense with this issue sometime before the next presidential election.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks, Brian.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 20, 2003 - 07:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today, the nation is paying tribute to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will speak in Atlanta, which is, of course, King's home town, and he'll be there to honor the civil rights leader.
King's dream was to bring America's blacks and whites closer together, but now there's a big controversy over the Confederate flag in the state of Georgia.
Let's check in with Brian Cabell.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
The Martin Luther King Day celebration gets under way here a little later this morning at 10:00 here at Ebenezer Baptist Church. There will be the traditional service on Martin Luther King Day. This is, of course, where Martin Luther King once preached.
But ironically, another kind of issue is dominating headlines this year. There is now serious talk here in Georgia of returning to the old controversial Georgia state flag.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL (voice-over): The old Georgia flag, prominently featuring the Confederate battle emblem, may have been voted out by the state legislature two years ago, but its boosters still fly it high. Many Georgians have never accepted the new flag with its tiny battle emblem.
DAN COLEMAN, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: This change that was made in 2001 was just basically shoved down the peoples' throats by just a very few people, and we believe that the people of this state should have some expression of what they want to represent them.
CABELL: The change in flags was engineered by former Governor Roy Barnes, an attempt to finally lay this contentious issue to rest. But it backfired on Barnes, because his Republican opponent last year, Sonny Perdue, campaigned on the pledge to give Georgians a voice on the new flag, keep it or drop it. Perdue won in an upset. Now he's keeping his pledge.
GOV. SONNY PERDUE (R), GEORGIA: What I want is for the majority of Georgians to speak in a way that sends a clear signal to the citizens of this state that that's their choice.
CABELL: He supports a non-binding referendum on the flag with the expectation that the legislature would then abide by the will of the voters. If the old flag were reinstated, with its history not only of the Confederacy, but of segregation, some here fear a return to racial strife.
MERLE BLACK, EMORY UNIVERSITY: It probably would set off a boycott, an economic boycott by the NAACP and other civil rights organizations in Georgia that would have a major economic impact on the city of Atlanta and other parts of Georgia.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: I think many organizations, groups that hold conferences, sports groups, would probably boycott the state. People don't want to be identified with the dark past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL: The referendum on the flag will likely take place this fall sometime. National Republicans aren't crazy about the issue, because it's tied to the Republican, Sonny Perdue. They would like to dispense with this issue sometime before the next presidential election.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks, Brian.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
