At its July 9 meeting, the Commission discussed the issue of displaying the Confederate Battle flag and voted to endorse the decision of the Orange County Board of Supervisors to remove the Mississippi state flag from the County’s Plaza of the Flags. The text of a letter to the Chairman Spitzer follows:
July 28, 2015
Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Chair
OC Board of Supervisors
10 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Dear Supervisor Spitzer:
At the regularly scheduled meeting of the OC Human Relations Commission on July 9, 2015 the issue of the display of the Confederate Battle flag and its symbols, such as on the Mississippi state flag was discussed.
The Commission took note of your suggestion that the County of Orange should remove the Mississippi state flag from the county’s Plaza of the Flags, and voted to endorse your effort to remove this symbol from our official property.
The Commission discussed the difference between recognizing history, such as the importance of telling the story of the holocaust, and celebrating certain history by keeping the symbols proudly displayed in public places.
The discussion led to the Commission voting to go on record supporting you and the Board of Supervisors in removing the Mississippi flag from our public display. The subsequent suggestion to change the flags to the 34 cities of Orange County, rather than the state flags would accomplish this.
The Commission does not want to deny the historical significance or reality of the Confederacy, but rather to recognize it along with other times in our history where great battles were fought that defined our nation as the pluralistic nation it has become, rejecting things like slavery and the oppression of people based on race.
And the symbols of that movement that embraced slavery should be reminders of the road not taken, as opposed to being maintained as if those defeated values were still acceptable today.
Thank you for your leadership on this important issue.
For the Commission I am,
Kenneth Inouye, Chair
OC Human Relations Commission
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View or download a PDF of the letter. Read the O.C. Register article about Commission’s support.
