After two months of debate, the Williamson County Board of Commissioners voted 16-7 to accept the county-appointed task force's recommendation to remove the Confederate flag from the county seal.
The commission's next step to remove the flag permanently is to send the Tennessee Historical Commission, the governing body over symbols of the Civil War, a resolution requesting the change to the seal.
Commissioners voting against the move were Bert Chalfant, Judy Herbert, Betsy Hester, Dwight Jones, Erin Nations, Jerry Rainey and Barb Sturgeon.
A county seal task force was established to study the top left-hand quadrant of the Williamson County seal, adopted in 1968, which depicts a Confederate flag draped over a cannon. The task force submitted a 30-page report to commissioners last week on its findings, which included the business and public impacts of the flag's presence.
THE DEBATE: 'A day of reckoning' is here in debate over Confederate flag in Williamson County seal
At the Monday meeting, task force chair Matt Largen, Williamson Inc. president and CEO, summarized the report.
"We were asked to evaluate the seal from a variety of perspectives, including potential financial impact, impact on tourism and business, and social and public interest impact," Largen said.
The task force concluded that the presence of the Confederate flag on the seal presented a risk to tourism and business recruitment and retention and that the flag is not inclusive but a symbol of oppression and is divisive to many members of the community who helped build Williamson County.
"Based on the entirety of the research, the task force voted unanimously to recommend the removal of the Confederate flag from the Williamson County seal," Largen said.
"To some in our community, the Confederate flag is seen as a symbol of treason, white supremacy, racial terror, exclusion and the inhumane enslavement and debasement of Africans in America," the task force report also stated.
The task force report also outlines the projected costs of removing the seal, including $15,000 for removal of the seal from the old Williamson County Courthouse's terrazzo tile floor, which can also be temporarily covered up with a $20 rug, the report states.
Some commissioners not convinced constituents want removal
However, some commissioners suggested that removing the flag from the seal is not necessarily what their constituents want.
During the meeting, Hester suggested deferring the vote until November, but the suggestion did not gain traction among commissioners.
"I have many constituents who say they are not pleased with the other quadrants of the county seal," Hester said. "I have heard from people who wish to update the entire seal."
Hester also said she is concerned about additional attorney costs regarding changing the seal if other legal issues arise.
"I am really not happy about this whole thing," Hester said. "I appreciate the task force and volunteer hours. I do not feel this issue has been covered sufficiently."
County attorney Jeff Moseley clarified that the commission's vote allows the body to send a resolution to the Tennessee Historical Commission asking permission to change the seal. However, the vote does not allow the commission to decide what to do next with the seal.
"You are just voting on the task force's report (and recommendation)," Moseley said.
If the state historical commission approves the removal of the flag, Moseley explained, the seal will no longer be under the state's jurisdiction. Then the commission would be charged with deciding whether to redesign the first quadrant, leave the existing cannon in place of the flag, retire the seal or redesign the entire seal altogether.
Commissioner Barb Sturgeon expressed her reservation in leaving the fate of the seal's design ambiguous, which was a factor in her "no" vote. She also cited results from the the task force's survey stating that the county is divided on the issue. The task force administered a "non scientific" survey about the seal, which showed that out of 1,225 respondents, 52%, or 638 people, were in favor of removing the Confederate flag from the seal, while 43%, or 521 people, opposed removing the flag.
"I am not convinced that this is what the people in this county want," Sturgeon said.
Gregg Lawrence, 4th District, who voted in favor of removing the flag, agreed. He also added that the late county historian Virginia Bowman did not intend to offend when she aided in designing the seal.
"She has been unfairly maligned by some," Lawrence said. "Someone who knew her would never think she put anything on the seal with any intent of being offensive to a group of people."
Lawrence, like some others during the past few months, suggested maybe the county doesn't need a seal. However, he also said he's not sure that he is ready to do away with the Confederate flag, which symbolizes the Battle of Franklin and brings tourism and historical fascination to many visitors.
"We don't have to have a seal. Many people in the county didn't even know we had a seal," Lawrence said.
Keith Hudson, 3rd District, the only African American serving on the commission, said the commission should honor the task force's recommendation.
"Some of my peers wish to vote for a deferral, to push it back further and further without voting," Hudson said.
"It's disheartening to think we would contemplate saving a symbol that's widely seen as a hate symbol."
He stated that the Confederate battle flag is synonymous with such hate groups as the segregationists the Dixiecrats during the civil rights era and the Ku Klux Klan.
"If we truly represent the people of our county, this shouldn't be a difficult decision."
Who is on the task force?
- Matt Largen, chair (representing the Williamson Chamber)
- Hewitt Sawyers (representing a multigeneration family member)
- Emily Bowman (representing a multigeneration family member)
- Paula Harris (representing the Heritage Foundation)
- Inetta Gaines (representing the African American Heritage Society)
- Lisa Campbell (representing an African American business owner/manager/education)
- Dr. Chris Williamson (representing an African American religious/community leader)
- Ellie Westman-Chin (representing the Williamson County Convention & Visitors Bureau)
- Rick Warwick, the county’s historian
Kerri Bartlett covers issues affecting children, families, education and government in Williamson County. She can be contacted at kbartlett@gannett.com, 615-308-8324 or @keb1414 on Twitter.
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Williamson County Commission takes first step to remove Confederate flag from seal - Tennessean
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