The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed support for a group of residents in Williamson County, Tennessee, who are asking county commissioners to request a waiver from the Tennessee Monuments and Memorial Commission to change the county seal, which includes a Confederate flag.
Earlier this year, CAIR urged Tennessee lawmakers to reject a bill that would keep the Confederate flag on the seal.
“We support the ongoing effort by the residents of Williamson County to finally remove this remnant of the Confederacy and its legacy of white supremacy, slavery and racism,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Any symbol honoring the traitorous Confederacy should be removed from public spaces.”
He noted that last year, CAIR welcomed a ruling that the image of the Confederate flag in the Williamson County seal could be removed.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR had previously called for the removal of the Confederate image from that seal.
Hooper said CAIR has repeatedly called for the removal of Confederate names, holidays, flags, statues, and symbols nationwide.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com