A state lawmaker wants to send a strong message to Ohioans who continue to display the Confederate flag.
Democratic State Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron says the Confederate flag has become a symbol of hate that has no place flying outside of any government-related entity or business.
Sykes, who’s black, wants the Republican-dominated House to vote on a resolution that would urge people to remove the flag from any public property.
“I’ve certainly seen these flags and every time I see it, it certainly makes me feel a certain way deep down in my stomach," Sykes said. "And I don’t appreciate the symbol and I don’t appreciate the arguments that people have for the symbol because it is very hurtful, the history of it.”
Sykes says the resolution was created after the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina where a white man shot and killed nine black church members. The shooter had previously posted pictures of himself posing with the Confederate flag.
Kettering City Schools have already banned the flags from student vehicles at its Kettering Fairmont High School.
The policy resulted from an agreement between the district's superintendent and the president of the NAACP's Dayton branch. The superintendent says five vehicles flew the flag at the high school.
A compromise in August allowed students to fly the flag or wear it on clothing before or after school hours. But a student's parent filed a complaint with the NAACP.