Representatives from the Limestone County NAACP spoke out during the Limestone County Commission meeting Monday, demanding the removal of a small Confederate flag from the base of a Civil War memorial on the eastern side of the courthouse lawn.

The flag, which was about the size of a piece of notebook paper, according to Limestone County Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough, was more than likely placed at the monument — a large block of limestone commemorating the spot where Union Col. Wallace Campbell formally surrendered to Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest — in recognition of Confederate Memorial Day on April 27 and forgotten.

“We really want that removed,” said Wilbert Woodruff of the NAACP to The News Courier. “It’s just a slap in the face (to the black community).”

Woodruff said the problem stems from differing viewpoints on the symbolism of the flag. While some view it as a historical emblem of Southern heritage, others, Woodruff said, see the flag as a symbol of a regime that enslaved his ancestors and fought to continue exploiting African Americans. Yarbrough said James Curtis Turner compared the flag to an ISIS banner or Nazi flag.

Basically the NAACP members didn’t feel comfortable with the flag on county property.

“I don’t think this is a thing the commission would condone,” Woodruff said.

Yarbrough and District 2 Commissioner Steve Turner promised the men the county would look into the matter. Someone from the commission removed the flag by early Monday afternoon, Yarbrough said.

Turner later told The News Courier commissioners aren’t sure who placed the flag on the lawn, or even if they violated any rules, but said whoever did it is not associated with the county commission. Turner said the real problem is no one came before the commission to ask permission to place the flag.