Going Spelunking! Montgomery City Council entertains high school student's proposal to change city's 'culturally insensitive' flag (AL)
After collecting over 1,300 signatures on an online petition, a Montgomery high school student asked the city council to approve changing the Montgomery City flag, which he claims harkens to the Confederacy.
Jeremiah Treece, a 17-year-old student at Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, started the petition in August, asking for support in his campaign to change the city's flag. The Montgomery City Council voted to place the recommendation in a committee but generally seemed supportive of Treece's efforts.
The flag was approved in April 1952. In his petition, Treece describes the flag virtually identically to The North American Vexillological Association, except for a few misspellings.
The North American Vexillological Association describes the flag's symbolism as follows:
"Gray, from the color of the uniforms of the soldiers of the Confederate States of America, represents the Confederacy. Red, the color of the saltire on the state's flag, symbolizes Alabama. Blue denotes the 'blue and gray' unity of today (the uniforms of the Union soldiers during the Civil War were blue). The seven white stars symbolize the seven original states of the Confederacy, 'brought together in the center wreathed in glory and honor', according to the city's chamber of commerce."
Treese appeared before the city council Tuesday evening, saying he was the "future of …