Ga. candidate defends flag burning
Confederate symbol was on state’s banner
ATLANTA — The campaign of Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams is defending her involvement in burning the state flag, which contained a Confederate symbol, during a protest while in college more than 25 years ago.
Abrams’ role in that flag-burning protest resurfaced in The New York Times on Monday, the eve of her first debate against Republican Brian Kemp. The paper cited a June 1992 Atlanta Journal-constitution article; a caption for the accompanying photo identifies Abrams as a woman standing with her arms crossed, watching three other protesters burn the flag.
Abrams addressed the issue at Tuesday night’s debate, saying: “Twenty-six years ago, as a college freshman, I along with many other Georgians, including the governor of Georgia, were deeply disturbed by the racial divisiveness that was embedded in the state flag with that Confederate symbol. I took an action of peaceful protest.”
The debate also included charges of voter suppression and counterclaims of encouraging illegal voting.
Kemp, who is white, fended off charges that he is using his position as Georgia secretary of state to make it harder for minority voters to cast ballots.
The two also traded barbs over education and health care policy.
The Confederate battle flag had been added to Georgia’s state flag in 1956 as a rebuke of the civil rights movement. Decades later, political pressure to remove what many considered to be a symbol of white supremacy grew as Atlanta drew international attention by hosting the Olympics in 1996. Concerns that the symbol was harming the state’s business reputation led to its final phase-out in 2001.
Abrams is seeking to become the first black female governor of any state. Kemp has portrayed her as “too extreme for Georgia.” He has said the race is a battle for the very “soul” of the state.
Abrams has pushed back, highlighting her Deep South upbringing and her history of working with Republicans in the state Legislature.
But she hasn’t shied away from expressing her opposition to some Confederate symbols, which she has said were intended to “terrorize” black communities.