The Confederate flag has received its share of negative attention in recent months since the June 17 shooting deaths of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.

 

Though the flag has received bipartisan criticism, some groups are determined to show it as a symbol of heritage, not hate. The sight of Confederate flags hung proudly from vehicles has become a more common sight following a decision by Gov. Robert Bentley to remove the flag from the Alabama Capitol grounds.

A Limestone County-based group recently decided to show its support for the flag as part of the “Deo Vindice Ride for Southern Pride.” On Sunday, about 200 people showed up for the event, which began near the Elk River Bridge and traveled throughout the county via U.S. 31, U.S. 72 and Alabama 251 before returning to the starting point.

The idea behind the ride, which featured about 65 Confederate flag-carrying vehicles and 10 motorcycles, was the brainchild of Limestone residents Chris Miller and James Guthrie. The pair decided to use the occasion for another purpose — to collect non-perishable food items for the county’s less fortunate.

Miller donated about 341 food items to Limestone County Churches Involved on Wednesday.

“(The flag) is about our heritage and ancestry. Regardless of how many groups say the flag represents hate, it does not mean hate,” Miller said. “The food will help the whole community, regardless of color.”

When asked if he worried about LCCI turning away his food donation because of the donors’ love for a divisive symbol, Miller said he wasn’t concerned.

“I can’t imagine them turning (the food) away,” he said. “It’s not like it’s coming from a hate group. It’s a loose-knit group of proud southern men and women.”

 

Defender of the flag

The name of the group’s ride, “Deo Vindice,” is Latin for “Under God, our Vindicator.” The phrase was the motto of the Confederate States of America and was featured on the Great Seal of the Confederate States.

Miller’s great-great-great-grandfather, John Miller, fought in the Civil War with the Tennessee Calvary’s 9^th Battalion, and named one of his sons Jefferson Davis Miller.

He said the Confederate flag represents a very real heritage for him and others, and does not deserve to be demeaned by others.

Miller said if accused Charleston shooter Dylann Roof had been holding an American flag or Bible when he committed his crime, the controversy over the Confederate flag would be less.

“Regardless of what anybody thinks, history is history,” he said. “The liberal and civil rights groups are just doing whatever their leadership tells them to do. When we say, ‘Heritage not hate,’ we get a giggle back. They don’t care about heritage.”

Miller attended a Confederate flag rally in Birmingham on July 18, which featured Anthony Hervey, an Oxford, Mississippi-based author and black man who was outspoken about his support for the Confederate flag. Hervey died in a one-car crash two days later on his way back from Birmingham.

The vehicle’s owner and passenger, Arlene Barnum, told The Associated Press that Hervey swerved and crashed after another vehicle carrying four or five young black men pulled up alongside them, yelling and looking angry. Barnum said Hervey yelled something back at the other vehicle before losing control and crashing.

“Mr. Hervey was there to spread his beliefs and he got killed for them,” Miller said