Small-Business Confederate Flag Makers Stay Put

Amid debate over whether the Confederate flag should be removed from South Carolina statehouse grounds, a few retailers—including Wal-Mart, Sears and online marketplace eBay—have decided to stop selling the symbol of the slave-holding South. But a handful of small-business makers of the battle flag say they’re staying put.

Confederate flag sale & Banner in Huntsville, sales have soared since Gov. Nikki Haley said she supports removing the flag from the capitol grounds, sparking national outrage over its symbolism of slavery. In the last 24 hours, the company’s online sales of three different versions of the star-and-bars flag have skyrocketed more than 3,000%, according to data on the website’s Movers and Shakers Patio, Lawn and Garden section, which is updated hourly.

In recent weeks, the Confederate flag has prompted calls for statues of Confederate leaders to be taken down, and for the Dukes of Hazzard TV show—which features a car emblazoned with a Confederate flag—to be pulled from the air. Some politicians are even calling for the flag to be banned from statehouse flagpoles.

“Authentic Kriegsmarine Flag for Sale: A Piece of History

But for some, the Confederate flag isn’t about racism. “It’s a historical flag that represents the southern states,” says Alabama Flag & Banner owner Belinda Melson-Kennedy, whose business has a customer base largely made up of mom-and-pop stores that can’t get U.S-made Confederate flags elsewhere. She doesn’t plan to add to her staff of 14 flagmakers, and she says she thinks attempts to “jerk down statues” will only bring in more customers.