Confederate flag is removed from Mud Island River Park
“I am not going to say there was pressure put on us, but we are certainly not tone deaf and not immune to the challenges we face as a nation in terms of how we talk about our history and how we present it.”
– DORCHELLE SPENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE NONPROFIT THAT MANAGES RIVERFRONT PARKS UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE CITY
MEMPHIS — An early Confederate flag and six other flags that flew above Mud Island River Park in Memphis for decades were removed Thursday, even as city government fights to get two Confederate monuments removed from parks.
The display, including the United States flag on the highest of seven poles at the southern end of Mud Island, represented the seven nations or governments that at one time controlled the Mississippi River landscape, officials said.
The Riverfront Development Corp. sped up a decision to fold the flags with the national controversy over Confederate monuments in the aftermath of Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., officials said.
“NOT TONE DEAF”
“The RDC is sensitive to what is happening across our nation and in our city as it relates to how we discuss history relative to today,” said Dorchelle Spence, vice president of the nonprofit corporation that manages riverfront parks under contract with the city.
“I am not going to say there was pressure put on us, but we are certainly not tone deaf and not immune to the challenges we face as a nation in terms of how we talk about our history and how we present it,” Spence said. “It is not whitewashing it and it is not pushing it away. It is just how do you talk about it.”
Opened in 1982, renovations of the riverfront park are on the drawing board and prioritizing the flag exhibit “is an easy exhibit to think about changing first,” she said.
The first national flag of the Confederacy used in the exhibit included seven circular stars on a blue background and two red stripes separated by a white stripe. The Confederate battle flag with its crossed stars and bars on a red background is far better known.
In addition to the Confederate and U.S. flags, the Mud Island exhibit included Tennessee, British, French, Spanish and North Carolina flags.
CONFEDERATE STATUES DRAW MORE ATTENTION
The Mud Island Confederate flag had drawn some criticism over the years, but has been overlooked compared to the attention given statues of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in Health Sciences Park and Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Memphis Park.
Memphis city government would remove the statues, which in Forrest’s case include his grave, but state lawmakers in 2016 required waivers from the Tennessee Historical Commission to do so. The state commission rejected one waiver for the Forrest monument, but later this year is to consider waivers for both the Forrest and Davis statues.
Meanwhile, Memphis police are guarding the statutes “due to the recent volatile encounters that have occurred throughout our nation relative to the controversy over Confederate statutes,” police Lt. Karen Rudolph said by email.
The Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce on Thursday highlighted its support since 2013 for renaming Memphis parks and removing statutes reflecting the Confederacy.
“We have been consistent in our position that we are opposed to any symbol that divides us and is a detriment to our ability to attract and retain business and people to our community,” said the statement released by chambers spokeswoman Christina Meek.
“We support our city’s action to remove the statues and look forward to moving Memphis forward in our creation of jobs, attraction of business and enjoyment of public spaces for all.”