Jun 25, 2015

National Park Service asks stores to remove Confederate flag items

The National Park Service has asked its gift shop and bookstore vendors to remove Confederate flag merchandise from their stores.

The request came Wednesday, June 24, and includes all standalone items featuring the Confederate flag.

“With this particular flag, the connotation is that because it represents the Confederacy that fought on the side of succession and slavery it can be viewed as a racist symbol,” National Park Service spokeswoman Kathy Kupper said.

The request includes products that solely feature the flag as a symbol, like a Confederate flag pin or belt buckle. Gifts and souvenirs that include the flag — a book with the Union and Confederate flags on the cover, for instance — would remain because, Kupper said, it puts the Confederate flag “in the context of history.”

Kupper said park officials expect its more than 70 vendors to comply.