NAACP files records request in battle over Rebel flag
By The Associated Press
08.15.02
GULFPORT, Miss. — As part of its plan to force the removal of the Rebel flag from a public beach display, the NAACP has filed a public-records request in Harrison County.
The Eight Flags display sits along U.S. 90 at the border of Biloxi and Gulfport. It has been the source of debate for years because the display includes the Confederate battle banner.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wants to review documents regarding county contracts, employment complaints and policies for awarding minority contracts.
The county is still working on the request, but supervisors, who have refused the group's requests to remove the Confederate emblem from the display, say they have nothing to hide.
"We hire the best contractors with the lowest bids," said Supervisor Larry Benefield. "We are here to represent the taxpayers and our responsibility to state law is to take the lowest bid."
State law says county governments do not have to award a percentage of their contracts to minorities unless their boards decide to do so.
Felicia Dunn-Burkes, community coordinator of the NAACP Gulfport branch, filed the public-records request with the county. Dunn-Burkes could not be immediately reached yesterday for comment.
This past weekend people organized by local branches of the NAACP handed out pamphlets explaining the organization's stance against the Rebel flag.
In a separate protest, Alcorn State University student Jason Whitfield, who is camped out at the display until the flag comes down, was issued a written warning on Aug. 11 for violating the county noise ordinance after a local church group had a prayer service.
The church and its minister were under the impression that if the church did not use a generator for its sound system, then it did not need a special permit.
A Harrison County deputy sheriff issued Whitfield a written warning after the church service.
The minister, the Rev. William Golden, told police that he should receive the warning instead of Whitfield. However, deputies disagreed and wrote Whitfield the citation, saying he was responsible for bringing people down to the beach.
Harrison County Sheriff George Payne Jr. said Aug. 13 that he was not familiar with the incident and could not get in touch with the officers involved.
"I can try to tell people to do what's right and what they're supposed to do," Whitfield said Aug. 13. "But I can't be responsible for everyone who comes down here."