Confederate flags disappearing from battlefield gift shops
North Carolina officials don't have an official policy addressing the sale of Confederate flag merchandise at Civil War battlefield gift shops, but the products' future is unclear.
The chief of staff for North Carolina's Sons of Confederate Veterans division tells The Wilson Times the group has heard the battle flag merchandise is unavailable at several state-maintained sites.
A written statement from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources with regard to the Confederate merchandise indicated it was not "selling or providing any materials that are not consistent with the department's vision, resources and programs."
The department said it aims to make sure merchandise "fosters awareness, understanding and appreciation, as well as the appropriate interpretation of our programs and resources."
Confederate monuments have become a flashpoint in North Carolina and around the nation.
Protesters toppled the "Silent Sam" Confederate monument on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus last August, and outgoing Chancellor Carol Folt had crews remove the statue's granite pedestal and commemorative plaques overnight Monday.
A state law limits the movement of Confederate memorials on public property, but Folt said she felt she had the authority to act to protect public safety, as the monument site has seen numerous protests and counter-protests over the past year.
A proposal to build a $5.3 million history center on campus to house the statue, along with materials to put it in historical context, was rejected by the UNC Board of Governors. University administrators are working on a new plan for the statue's future.
Similarly, Durham County officials are considering a plan for a Confederate statue that protesters pulled down in 2017. An advisory committee has recommended putting the mangled statue on display inside a county office building and turning the pedestal into a work of public art that also honors freed slaves and area residents who backed Union forces during the Civil War.
