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Larger Confederate Flag Unfurled Near I-75 In Hillsborough

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

On Sunday, the Confederate veterans group raised a 30-by-60-foot flag, replacing the 30-by-50-foot flag that has been flying since June 3, next to the I-75 bridge over U.S. 92.

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By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2008

TAMPA - A new, larger Confederate flag flying at the junction of Interstates 4 and 75 will be like "lipstick on a pretty woman," attracting more attention to a memorial park at the flag's base, the owner of the property said today.

"If we can get more people with a bigger flag … if we can make the national news again with a bigger flag, so be it," said Marion Lambert, owner of the property and an officer with the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

On Sunday, the Confederate veterans group raised a 30-by-60-foot flag, replacing the 30-by-50-foot flag that has been flying since June 3, next to the I-75 bridge over U.S. 92. Lambert said the veterans group decided to cut the older flag into pieces and sell them on eBay as souvenirs to raise money for the park.

The flag, on a 139-foot-high flag pole, caused an uproar when it was first raised. Some local politicians and business leaders worried the flag would tar Hillsborough County with the stain of racism and intolerance.

Lambert and other supporters, however, say fallen Southern veterans of the Civil War should be remembered with the same reverence as American veterans of other wars.

Lambert said he expects the flag to keep flying unless someone can convince him of a good reason to take it down. So far, the flag has generated scattered opposition from a few individuals.

Michelle Williams, who once brandished a noose at a county commission meeting to show her opposition to the flag, said she was disappointed more black pastors and other community leaders did not organize protests against the flag. Williams said she is now meeting with Lambert to work out some kind of compromise.

"What else can I do except to sit down and talk with Mr. Lambert and talk with the gentlemen of the SCV and say, 'Can we just raise the flag on certain days,'" she said. "That's all I want to see come out of it."

Lambert said he expects the flag to keep flying unless he can be convinced of a legitimate need for it to come down.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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