Google, Amazon to stop selling Confederate flags, merchandise
Google, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Sears and eBay are now banning all sales of Confederate flag merchandise on their websites, joining a growing movement to remove the flag after it appeared in imagery of Dylann Roof, the self-confessed shooter of nine African-Americans in a historic South Carolina church.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced Monday she supports removing the flag from state capitol grounds.
Haley, as well as a growing number of politicians, activists and civil rights leaders, have noted the flag, a symbol of the slave-holding South, has become toxic in the aftermath of the shooting.
“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer,” Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick told CNN. “We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our website.”
Johnna Hoff, an eBay spokesperson, said Tuesday the Confederate flag has “become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism.”
Sears Holding Company, which owns Sears and K-Mart stores, also announced they would no longer sell Confederate emblem merchandise. Etsy, a prominent online retailer of vintage and handmade goods, sent out an email confirming they would ban the sale of the items, as well. Google Inc said Tuesday it would remove content containing the flag from its Google Shopping service and ads, Reuters reported.
Online retail giant Amazon, which announced Tuesday afternoon it would no longer carry the merchandise, saw a dramatic increase in sales of the items on Tuesday morning.
In the site’s “Movers & Shakers” section, where items are listed by their rise in popularity in the past 24 hours, the first five items for sale were Confederate flags or variations of it in their patio, lawn and gardening section.
Sales of the top result, a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag being sold for $1.80, increased by 3,620 percent in 24 hours. The flag was ranked at number 5 and was previously at 186.
Another top result, a combination of the Gadsden flag (“Don’t Tread on Me”) and the Confederate flag, rose from rank 7,151 to 355 — a 1,914-percent increase. Sales of the plain Gadsden flag rose Tuesday morning, as well.
Amazon.com will pull down flag merchandise from its site, a source knowledgeable with the matter told Reuters.
One of the most prominent U.S. flag makers said on Tuesday it will stop manufacturing and selling Confederate flags in the wake of last week’s attack. Pennsylvania-based Valley Forge Flag said they came to the decision after growing controversy surrounding the symbol, Reuters reported.
“We hope that this decision will show our support for those affected by the recent events in Charleston and, in some small way, help to foster racial unity and tolerance in our country,” Valley Forge Flag said in a statement.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The South Carolina House voted Tuesday 103-10 to allow a special session to discuss removing the Confederate flag, local media outlets reported. The session will likely occur later this summer.
Legislators will pass a state budget, Associated Press reported, and when they reconvene to consider Gov. Haley’s budget vetoes, they will discuss the flag’s position at the statehouse.
Democrat Sen. Vincent Sheheen later Tuesday introduced a bill that would move the Confederate flag from the statehouse to a museum, according to the Associated Press. If approved, the flag would be moved to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.
KEEPING THE FLAG
NASCAR endorsed efforts Tuesday to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse in Charleston, but said it is likely the flag won’t be banned altogether from NASCAR racetracks.
“As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate Flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity,” NASCAR said in a statement.
“While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events.”
While Confederate flags are banned from use in an official capacity, they are often flown in the infield of NASCAR events.
STATE BY STATE
Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia announced Tuesday the state would begin to phase out license plates featuring the flag, NBC News reported.
The decision follows on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that Texas cannot be required to allow the flag on license plates. McAuliffe said the symbol of flag was “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said he wasn’t aware the flag was printed on license plates, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Tuesday, but that he would be “in favor of discontinuing it.”
Haslam signed a bill in 2012 approving the use of the flag on motorcycle license plates.
On Monday, a top Mississippi lawmaker said the Confederate emblem was offensive and needed to be removed from the state’s flag, Associated Press reported.
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said, “As a Christian, I believe our state’s flag has become a point of offense that needs to be removed.”
The massacre of nine worshippers at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last week renewed debate over the Old South symbol after he was seen in pictures on a white supremacy site displaying the banner.
Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva
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