Jeff Davis
Jeff Davis of the Georgia Heritage Council says he just wants to preserve a piece of state history. Not just any piece, mind you, but the 1956 Georgia flag dumped by Gov. Roy Barnes and the state Legislature in 2001 because three-quarters of its area was devoted to the Confederate battle emblem. Fans of the flag argue that it celebrates Georgia's heritage. Opponents of it agree, but add that the heritage it celebrates includes slavery, racism and segregation.
In 2002, then-gubernatorial-candidate Sonny Perdue courted voters who were angry about the demise of the '56 flag, but he later alienated them by leaving the '56 flag out of his 2003 flag referendum.
"They took away the leading contender," Davis says, claiming Perdue "made certain promises that he just plain didn't keep."
Davis, who -- talk about a nutty coincidence -- shares a name with the former President of the Confederacy, says he'd accept the result of any state flag referendum, as long as the '56 flag was one of the choices. No referendum is foreseeable.
Atlanta's 11 Least Influential People
- Intro
- Residents of the 800-block of Mercer Street
- Pedestrian Crossing-Sign Guy
- Rep. Lynn Westmoreland
- Izzy
- Michael Dobbins
- Pootah
- Rep. Sue Burmeister
- Jeff Davis
- Greg Jones
- Doraville Councilman Tom Hart
- Dezso Gavaller
- Where are they now?
COMMENTS
RE: Jeff Davis
Posted by Michele on 11.09.06 @ 04:29 PM
The greatest period of prosperity for Georgia (1956-2001)and the period that welcomed huge numbers of blacks from other states was when we had the 1956 Flag. If you read accurate history, you will see the flag is not racist any more than the American Flag is. Between 1956 and 2001 thousands of companies located here, the Olympics came here, millions of blacks relocated here. Why did the flag not keep all that from happening if it is so hateful? The NAACP got a bug to create enmity among the blacks and they started race baiting to fill their coffers. Worked.