Confederate flag supporters rally in Greene

“We’re showing that there is still support for this flag,” he said. “We’re showing that, to us, it’s heritage, not hate — nothing about racism. We’re just showing that it still needs to be flown, not taken off of shelves and packed away.”

The Confederate flag — especially the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia — has been the center of controversy after the shooting death of nine black people at a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, stands accused of the shooting, and law enforcement agents are investigating his possible connection to various hate groups.

In the wake of authorities finding images of Roof with the Confederate flag, South Carolina’s legislature voted to remove it from a monument outside the statehouse, and groups have called for Mississippi to modify its state flag, which features the Confederate emblem. North Carolina has sold out of its version of Confederate license plates after its governor said the state should stop selling them, and Sons of Confederate Veterans groups in states including Virginia are considering legal action to keep them. Additionally, an online petition calls for the removal of Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ name from U.S. 1 in Virginia, and states from California to Maryland are considering stripping the names of Confederate figures from government property.

After seeing the calls to take down Confederate imagery, Madden said he stepped up to show his support for the flag.

“Our flag did not commit a crime,” Madden said. “What that guy did down in South Carolina was not about the flag. This flag does not kill people. An evil, manic person does, and this is not about that.”

Sitting in the back of a pickup truck with a Confederate flag flying from the back, Renee Childers heard about the rally on Facebook and decided to join in. For Childers, the flag is about her southern heritage and an important reminder of all the men and women who died in the Civil War.

“There are a lot of supporters for the flag,” Childers said. “It’s not a hate thing. It’s not a racism thing. It’s about heritage. The flag doesn’t cause people to go shoot up a church.

“There were people who fought in the [Civil] War — daughters, fathers, sons, grandfathers — and they died in the war to support the South.”

One lone voice of dissent broke through the Confederate celebration at the Wal-Mart gathering. Kate Fraleigh, of Charlottesville, brought a handmade sign with the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” She loudly addressed members of the rally, questioning the symbolism of the flag.

“I think it’s a battle flag that represents a cry for slavery and that was a bad thing in our history — and it still is,” Fraleigh said. “I think that you can be proud of your relatives, but it’s not right.”

“I thought another point of view was necessary,” she continued. “I think that by not responding, it’s in essence, in agreement. And I’m not in agreement. I think these people are perfectly nice people. It’s a current controversy and it has two sides.”

When the gathering turned to shouting between Fraleigh and the flag supporters, Wal-Mart staff members asked the group to leave.

The Confederate Keepers then decided to continue their rally at the Greene County Rescue Squad, where they organized a food drive to support the Greene Alliance of Church and Community Effort, a nonprofit focused on helping the hungry and impoverished in Greene County.

Members of GRACE were unavailable for comment Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.