VILLA RICA, Ga. (AP) – A proposal to turn a historic tavern into a museum for a Georgia city may hinge on preserving a pole holding Georgia’s former flag, which includes an image of the Confederate battle flag.
Villa Rica Downtown Development Authority member Bill Taylor tells The Times-Georgian that the owners of Wick’s Tavern want the flag to remain if they lease the property to the city.
Other members say the flag could remain in a display of state flags but don’t want it to become a Confederate memorial.
Any version of the battle flag became controversial following the killings of nine black people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina last June. A white man, Dylann Roof, charged with the crime embraced white supremacy and the battle flag in online materials.