Courtesy of WCTV
A small plane was spotted flying with a Confederate flag above the Florida A&M University campus early Tuesday morning.
The plane, which was reportedly also seen flying over Florida State University and downtown Tallahassee, hoisted the flag and a message, “We’ll remember in Nov.,” a reference to the upcoming presidential election.
Fourth-year psychology FAMU student, Sajsha Dixon from Orlando, Fla., was walking when she heard the helicopter and was surprised by what she saw tailing it.
“I was walking to class Tuesday morning and I heard a helicopter flying in the sky,” she said. “I wasn’t going to look up but out of pure curiosity, I did. I immediately noticed the helicopter, but what stood out was the confederate flag that was attached to it.”
According to multiple news outlets, the flag and message was sponsored by the Florida chapter of Save Southern Heritage, Inc., who pride themselves in preserving and promoting the history of the south, according to their website.
This incident comes a day after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations that happened nation-wide and on the same day as the birthday of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
Isaiah Stallings, a third-year FAMU healthcare management from Jacksonville, Fla., said that there are still some people who do not like that every race has come together to celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. King.
“I guess they wanted to express their emotions,” he said. “White and black people get together for Martin Luther King day, so if he brought us together, I guess they don’t like it, so they’re going to come express their emotions by, I guess, protesting.”
A rally in support of the Confederate flag was also held at the old Capitol building on Saturday following new legislation, HB 0243, introduced by the state house and senate which “Prohibits display of flags & emblems associated with Confederate States of America on any publicly owned or leased property,” according to the Florida Senate website.
“Our group does not condone racism and as such we do not support any group or person that does,” SSH states on their website.