National Park Service Release
WASHINGTON β Confederate Battle Flag sales items are being removed from national park bookstores and gift shops.
βWe strive to tell the complete story of America,β National Park Service Director Jonathan B. J arvis said of the agencyβs reputation for telling difficult parts of our history. βAll sales items in parks are evaluated based on educational value and their connection to the park. Any stand-alone depictions of Confederate flags have no place in park stores.β
Jarvis said the murders of nine church members at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, which is near Fort Sumter National Monument, galvanized a national discussion that includes symbols and relics from our nationβs past such as the Confederate Battle Flag.
βAs that discussion spread across the country,β Jarvis said, βone of our largest cooperating associations, Eastern National, began to voluntarily remove from the park stores that it manages any items that depict a Confederate flag as its primary feature. Iβve asked other cooperating associations, partners and concession providers to withdraw from sale items that solely depict a Confederate flag.β
In the telling of the historical story, Confederate flags have a place in books, exhibits, reenactments, and interpretive programs. Books, DVDs, and other educational and interpretive media where the Confederate flag image is depicted in its historical context may remain as sales items as long as the image cannot be physically detached. Confederate flags include the Stainless Banner, the Third National Confederate Flag, and the Confederate Battle Flag.
Jarvis said, βAll superintendents and program managers will personally evaluate which sales items fit this description, have educational value, and are appropriate for the site.β
