One of the most divisive symbols in the U.S. today is the Confederate flag, and Texas is no exception where Americans are divided on its public display. Although the Confederate flag is usually displayed as an honor to heritage, according to supporters, it stirs negative reactions from others who see it as a symbol of oppression.
The debate most famously came to a head in the state when the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board denied the application for a specialty license plate sponsored by the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans, because its design included a Confederate flag. The SCV sued the state of Texas, arguing that its First Amendment right to free speech was being infringed.
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Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas could discriminate against the plate design since Texas was deemed the author of speech on state-issued license plates.
The SCV maintained that its organization aimed to educate the public on the impact that the Confederacy had on Texas and to honor Texas Confederate veterans, but the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board rejected the application on the grounds that it found the design to be "offensive to any member of the public,"
according to CNN.
The Texas SCV claims that many people may not know that some 90,000 Texans served as Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The organization also states that the Confederate flag is “a symbol of honor and not hate.”
You will find the Confederate flag flying over the amusement park Six Flags Over Texas, although not the Confederate battle flag. Six Flags dropped that flag decades ago in an effort to distance the park from the image of the Confederacy,
according to The Dallas Morning News. Now it flies one of the official Confederate state flags, staying clear of the contentious battle flag.
In fact, the Confederate battle flag was never the official flag of the Confederacy. There were three official Confederate flags during the war, but the battle flag didn’t become strongly associated with the Confederacy until years after the South lost the war,
according to PBS.
People in Texas might be able to view the flag during special events such as July Fourth parades. The Sons of Confederate Veterans and other participants often announce they will proudly march in a number of parades across Texas and display the Confederate battle flag.
If you want to see the Confederate flag flying in Texas, this may be your last chance, at least until the The Confederate Memorial of the Wind is built in Orange, Texas. The monument, sponsored by the Texas SCV, will be located just inside the Texas-Louisiana line at the corner of I-10 and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive,
according to Texas Monthly.
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