Lafayette man hoists Confederate flag
Even as legislators across the Old South consider taking down divisive Confederate flags and merchants nationwide decide to stop selling Confederate merchandise, one Lafayette man has chosen to buck the trend in a very public way.
On July 4th, Pearl Speakman had a Confederate banner hoisted above his home in the 900 block of S. 22nd St., where it remained Monday.
"The flag does not mean prejudice," contended the 67-year-old retired Navy veteran. "The reason I like that flag is because the South represents people that work...You don't have to tell them to get out and get a job."
Wearing a Confederate flag cap and bearing another Stars and Bars banner sticking out of his pocket, Speakman stood proudly on Monday in his front yard festooned with "Do Not Enter" signs, and explained his protest
"The Confederate flag does not stand for anything other than the belief of the person who has it flying," Speakman said. "The Confederate flag never killed nobody. ... It's the idiot behind the Confederate flag ... that kills a person. So please don't blame the flag for killing anyone."
Many disagree with that benign analysis, especially in the wake of last month's massacre of nine African-Americans who were worshipping inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The alleged white supremacist killer favored Confederate flags as a propaganda backdrop—a symbol also commonly employed by racist hate groups for generations.
On Monday, South Carolina lawmakers began a debate whether the Confederate flag should be removed from the grounds of the state capitol, where it has flown for more than 50 years.
Donald Willis, an African-American neighbor who lives across the street from Speakman, called Speakman's choice to fly the Confederate emblem "cruel" in light of the recent massacre.
"I don't think it's appropriate for him in times like this to put it up," Willis said. "Why do this and you know what's going on in the world today?"
His girlfriend, Sue Hawkins, called State Rep. Sheila Klinker to complain.
"I think (Speakman) enjoys testing the water on the First and the Second Amendment, and that's just the way (he) is," Klinker said. "(But) I don't like it. ... There's no excuse for it in today's society."
Klinker told Hawkins she would contact Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski to see what the city could do.
But Roswarski said the city cannot intervene.
"I don't think it's good for our community," the mayor said, "but on private property, he is (exercising) his constitutional rights."
Other neighbors upset with Speakman said the controversy follows years of tensions. Several described him as an attention-seeking "lonely, bitter old man."
Some neighbors said they were actually more offended by another flag flying in Speakman's front yard: An upside-down American flag.
According to the U.S. flag code, the American flag should only be flown upside down to signal a dire emergency or extreme danger.
"I didn't defend the flag to have it disgraced like that," said Jim South, a Navy veteran. "That is a disgrace. You only use it if you're in trouble."
Speakman said he wanted to fly the American flag upside down to express his disapproval of what he deems a weak American work ethic, lack of manufacturing and a prioritization of minority agendas.
He said he had both flags raised on July 4th "to commemorate his independence being taken away."
Speakman said he fears lawmakers will eventually take away his right to fly the Confederate flag.
"America is in distress and you don't know it," he said. "I give America 15 years, and it won't be America. In 15 years, you'll have a multinational flag. That one won't be honored anymore."
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