Sons of Confederate Veterans plan more flags along NC interstates

Smitty Smith, of Burke County, put up a 20-by-30-foot Confederate flag over the weekend on his property beside Interstate 40 and told reporters it was part of a larger plan.

"We'll put up flag for every monument taken down," he said, referring to the movement to remove Confederate memorials across the South, including the memorial for Gen. Nathan Forrest that was removed in Memphis, Tenn., in December.

The group raised a 20-by-30-foot Confederate flag along Interstate 95 in Cumberland County, also on private property, last spring.

When Dakota Duckworth encountered the massive banner off exit 138 along Interstate 40 in Catawba County, she was not surprised. Duckworth says the rebel colors are a common sight.

"I just kind of laughed," she said. "I just thought it was kind of dumb. It was so big. It makes people mad, and that was just something to make people mad."

The mere presence of the Confederate flag divides people. Some see it as a representation of their Southern heritage, while others see a symbol of the racist attitudes that existed long after the abolition of slavery.