A welcome sign paired with a Confederate flag has sparked controversy in an Ohio city.
In Harrison, Ohio, a Confederate flag emerged with a sign below it that reads: “Welcome to Harrison, Ohio," per WCPO.
“I drive past here every single day and never, ever, ever seen anything like that,” Wayne Johnson told WCPO.
The welcome sign also lists Mayor Ryan Grubbs' name.
Grubbs said the sign isn't officially affiliated with the city.
“This was brought to my attention Saturday afternoon after the family that owns the property posted the sign and put the flag up. This is not a City property or project," Grubbs said in an email.
The mayor noted that citizens can choose to "speak" in different ways with their right to free speech.
“While the property owner may be within his rights, I do have a team looking into the display,” Grubbs said. “We are looking to see if it is in violation of any of our zoning requirements, or if it is misrepresentation. It would be very easy for individuals to think that it is a city display.”
Trudy Gaba, a social justice curator at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, said she wasn't shocked to see the display in Ohio.
“Flags are representative of ideologies of belief systems,” Gaba said.
However, Gaba noted that the flag complicates Ohio's past since it was a free state.
“It begs one to question what are we glorifying, what are we celebrating here,” she said. “The Confederate flag is emblematic of the desire to own people as property. You can’t separate that from today’s history.”
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