'Carpetbaggers and scalawags' receive tongue lashing at Beauvoir's rebel flag rally

BILOXI -- The Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans held its Confederate Flag Day celebration Saturday afternoon at Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library.

The event, open to the public, encouraged citizens to bring their own Confederate flags and march in a "grand entry parade" that began on Beauvoir Road, turned east on U.S. 90 and entered the property through its front gate.

The rally drew a few dozen citizens carrying Confederate flags and outfitted with Confederate T-shirts, hats and other similar memorabilia.

Joe Abbott, chairman of the Mississippi Division Heritage Committee, said the crowd was not as large as he would have liked but explained that many supporters were attending other events to gather signatures for the Initiative 58 petition.

Initiative 58 is a proposal to amend the State Constitution "to recognize that the State Flag of Mississippi is and shall be the flag adopted by the Legislature of 1894 and used continuously since then." The proposal is a counter measure to Initiative 55, known as the Flag for All Mississippians Act, which seeks to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the current State Flag.

Carl Ford, past Commander of the Mississippi Division of the SCV and key speaker at Saturday's event, urged attendees to help generate bipartisan support by finding common ground with citizens of color.

"This is not a race issue," Ford said. "This is a cultural issue we need to think of ourselves as a third movement, free to vote in any party."

He criticized lawmakers in southern states, calling them "carpetbaggers and scalawags," for not taking a stand to preserve historic Confederate landmarks such as the recent measure to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from iconic Lee Circle in downtown New Orleans.

"Instead of waiting for the next round of attacks, we need to take the offensive with Initiative 58," Ford said.

SCV Historian-in-Chief Chuck Bond said the current flag is the same one that existed when women gained the right to vote and when American soldiers fought in World War II.

"I see the same flag that flew over Mississippi when we had more African American elected officials than any of the 50 states and still do," Bond said. "That's what I see. I see my heritage."

The Rev. Lee Floyd, who is black, led the invocation at Saturday's flag rally and said he agreed with Ford and Bond.

"This is not about color," Floyd said. "This is about history. This is about culture."

The event concluded with Bond leading the crowd in a capella rendition of "Dixie."

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "'Carpetbaggers and scalawags' receive tongue lashing at Beauvoir's rebel flag rally ."