Politics

Black Backer of Confederate Flag Was Anomaly in Mississippi

Published

11 years ago

July 22, 2015

In this May 8, 2000, file photograph, Anthony Hervey holds a Confederate flag while standing underneath the Confederate monument in Oxford, Miss. The Highway Patrol says 49-year-old Hervey was killed Sunday, July 19, 2015, when his 2005 Ford Explorer left the roadway and overturned on Mississippi Highway 6 in Lafayette County. (Bruce Newman/The Oxford Eagle via AP, File)

EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — In a town where Confederate soldier statues stand sentinel on the courthouse square and a university campus, Anthony Hervey remained an anomaly — a black man who draped himself in the Confederate battle flag and publicly declared his loyalty to the secessionist Lost Cause and his belief that the Civil War was not fought over slavery.

Hervey, 49, died Sunday when the sport utility vehicle he was driving flipped into a ditch beside Mississippi Highway 6 near Oxford. He and another black Confederate supporter were returning home after speaking at an event to support a Confederate monument in Birmingham, Alabama.

The passenger, Arlene Barnum of Stuart, Oklahoma, survived and told The Associated Press that Hervey lost control of her vehicle after they were chased by a silver or gray sedan carrying four or five black men.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is interviewing witnesses and reconstructing the crash, said patrol spokesman Johnny Poulos. The local coroner, Rocky Kennedy, said Tuesday that he was waiting for autopsy results.

Hervey was well known in Oxford and at the University of Mississippi, where students waved Confederate flags for decades to cheer the Rebels.

In Hervey’s 2006 book, “Why I Wave the Confederate Flag, Written by a Black Man,” he said the Civil War was not fought over slavery and that he was supporting black soldiers who fought for the South in the Civil War.

Even people who had known Hervey for years say they didn’t always understand him.

Randal McJunkins, 47, said he and Hervey had known each other since they were Oxford High School students in the 1980s and they had played basketball together in recent years. McJunkins called Hervey by his nickname Tony, and described him as smart and opinionated.

“He was different, I can say that,” McJunkins said. “If you knew him, you knew what to say to him, what not to say to him.”

McJunkins, who is black, recalled seeing Hervey around Oxford wearing a Confederate uniform and waving a flag. Several years ago, Hervey walked about 25 miles from Oxford to Batesville carrying a large rebel flag.

“I always wanted to ask him, what was the deal with that,” McJunkins said Monday.

In 2000 and 2001, Hervey made several appearances around Mississippi, speaking against a proposal to remove the Confederate battle emblem that has been on the state flag since Reconstruction. State voters decided in 2001 to keep the flag design, but now some people are saying the issue should be reconsidered.

Barnum said organizers of Saturday’s Alabama event had asked her to give Hervey a ride there. She said she didn’t know him previously.

Barnum and Hervey both spoke at the rally, and Barnum said she burned an NAACP membership card during her speech. A video shows the crowd cheered when Hervey said he doesn’t like black people or white people, “but I love me some Southerners.”

The public display of Confederate symbols has come under fresh scrutiny since the June 17 massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The white man charged in the killings had posed with a Confederate battle flag in photos posted online before the attack.

At the Alabama rally, Hervey called attempts to remove Confederate symbols and monuments “an assault on working-class people.”

Hervey also said: “You know what white guilt is? If I can accuse you of something you ain’t have nothing to do with, and I do it long enough and I put on ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ and ‘Mississippi Burning,’ I program your children. This is where the racism comes in, that white guilt.”

Barnum said that as she and Hervey were traveling home Sunday, she let Hervey drive. She said he stopped at a convenience store, and she remained in the vehicle as he went in. She said Hervey was wearing a Confederate kepi, or military hat. Barnum said soon after they left the store, a car with four or five young black men pulled up near them.

“They were angry with Mr. Hervey,” Barnum said. “Mr. Hervey sped up and said, ‘Hell, no.’ … He really had to gun it on the gas pedal.”

Barnum said Hervey didn’t have time to explain what was happening. “I could have sworn that they knew him because of his reaction to them,” she said.

She said the car ran Hervey off the highway, and the SUV rolled over. Barnum said she unbuckled herself and told Hervey he should take a pocket knife off her key chain and cut his seatbelt. She said he was breathing but didn’t respond.

Hervey died at the scene. Funeral arrangements had not been made by Tuesday.

___

Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.

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Marin City Public Housing Residents Demand a Voice in County’s Renovation Plans

Representation has been a continuous struggle for the Residents Council, she said in an interview with the Post News Group. In 2014, the tenants took the county to federal court over this issue, and prevailed, resulting in an MOU that was in effect from 2014 to 2024, said McLemore. “Now, they are not responding to our rightful requests to participate. They are not giving us a legal justification for their position.”

Published

5 days ago

May 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The largest housing complex in Marin County, Golden Gate Village residents are for predominantly Black and low-income. Courtesy image.

Tenants say the County of Marin is ignoring federal law requiring resident council participation

By Ken Epstein

Marin City public housing residents say the County is illegally depriving them of their rights to participate in renovation decisions that affect the future of their housing, raising deep concerns over whether the county ultimately will find a way to displace them.

According to regulations established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Marin City public housing residents have the right to organize, elect resident councils, and hold public housing agencies accountable for involving them in management decisions.

Without resident participation, the Board of Housing Commissioners, made up of the five Marin County Board of Supervisors and two resident comissioners, has approved a $226 million project. The plan calls for renovation of the 296 units in Golden Gate Village (GGV) and focuses on interior improvements. The project is scheduled to start in July.

Residents’ concerns have a long history, said Royce McLemore, president of the Golden Gate Village Residents Council and a 50-year resident of Marin City,

With no current MOU mandating training and participation of residents, the legal basis for all the redevelopment decisions made by the county since 2024 is questionable, said Terrie Green, executive director of Marin City Climate Resilience. “We are experiencing voicelessness. If residents had a voice, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” she said.

County decisions include a plan, in line with federal regulations, to convert GGV from public housing to a public-private enterprise that allows for private investment. The Marin Housing Authority has created a limited partnership that includes Burbank Housing – which will renovate the units and manage the property – and Wells Fargo Bank, the investor.

This change in federal policy regarding public housing, which includes a shift to a Section-8 voucher system, has resulted in gentrification across the country, particularly affecting African Americans in cities such as San Francisco.

Shifts in criteria of what is considered affordable could also end up pricing residents out of their living units. At present, low income in Marin County is officially considered $156,000. But the median household income in Marin City is significantly lower at $68,846.

Damian Morgan, a community advocate with Marin City Climate Resilience, questioned why the county is renovating apartments without fixing toxic infrastructure that is impacting the lives of people in GGV.

Morgan said tenants have filed a class action lawsuit because of unsafe conditions at Golden Gate Village.

Residents are also concerned that the County still does not have an adequate family plan for temporary displacement while their apartments are being renovated. Although the County has suggested other community apartments as alternatives, nothing concrete has developed except vacant public housing units that have the same toxic conditions, such as mold and mildew.

Green said it doesn’t make sense. “…Why are we moving people around into temporary housing that’s uninhabitable, when you should be dealing first with the infrastructure, the foundational work, replacing old and rusted water pipes and new sewers.”

Morgan questions the County’s motivation for neglecting infrastructure repairs. “They’re remodeling the units but leaving the decayed infrastructure in place. I feel like they’re just setting this up for it to fail.”

“What slowed it down a little is that GGV is a historic preservation district, but I think what they’re striving for is demolition by neglect,” he said. “The neglect has always been on their part.”

Architect Ora Hatheway said her concern is about cutting corners. “You have to deal with the land issues. You have to deal with grading and drainage, and that’s being brushed under the rug.”

In an interview with KGO TV, Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters responded to some of these concerns. She said residents are guaranteed the right to return to their homes.

“This is a concern that we take seriously,” she said. “Every resident will move back into their own unit, and we’ve given this to them in writing. Before they leave their unit, we will sign a document together that guarantees their right to return.”

In response to residents who feel left out of the planning process, she said community input has focused on those affected by the first phase of the project. “So other residents may not have heard quite as much or felt like they had as much contact. But if there are residents who have concerns, we’re happy to hear from them. You can contact my office or the housing authority directly,” she said.

While County leaders may be giving some updates to some tenants, they are not sitting at the table with the Residents Council nor giving residents a voice in decision-making, said McLemore.

Without a voice in decisions, tenants are worried that Black people may be forced out of public housing, resulting in gentrification, she said in an interview with ABC 7. It’s still paternalistic, she said. “It’s still that ‘We know what’s best for you.’’’

Several years ago, the Residents Council proposed a land trust plan that would give tenants homeownership rights. Though the plan had broad support throughout the county, it was rejected by the Board of Supervisors

In the final analysis, Green said, for Marin City tenants the fight is not just for decent housing but to maintain their community with dignity under conditions of mutual respect.

“We’re talking about people who came here to work in the shipyards during World War II to bring about peace and safety to this country,” she said. “Look at the discrimination we’ve faced down through the years. Look at the life-span issue of Marin City folks – almost 20 years less than the rest of the County.”

“We want educational equity so our children will have decent schools. We need a land trust, property ownership, so we can have wealth creation. Marin City needs the same quality of life as other communities in Marin County.”

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Oakland Post: Week of May 6 – 12, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of may 6 – 12, 2026

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5 days ago

May 10, 2026

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On the Frontlines of Hate: NAACP Links Victims to Critical Support

The NAACP CA/HI has a long and well-established record of supporting victims of discrimination and hate crimes — providing critical referrals and, when necessary, direct assistance through legal advocacy and other forms of support. Beyond responding to incidents, the organization continues to advocate on broader civil rights issues, including voting rights and legal protections. It has also worked to counter efforts at the state and federal levels that could weaken the voting power of communities of color.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 1, 2026

Oakland Post

NAACP members at a recent advocacy day in Sacramento urging lawmakers to protect voting rights. Photo courtesy of California Black Media.

By Joe Kocurek
California Black Media

The California/Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP (CA/HI NAACP) has expanded its efforts to respond to rising hate incidents and civil rights complaints across California, supported in part by funding from California’s Stop the Hate Program

Through that grant, NAACP CA/HI has strengthened its ability to connect individuals experiencing hate or discrimination with critical resources. This includes referring those who file complaints to the CA vs Hate hotline, a statewide, non-emergency hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal created to help counter a more than 50% increase in reported hate crimes in California between 2020 and 2024. The system helps ensure incidents are documented, and victims are guided toward appropriate support.

LaJuana Bivens says the work of NAACP is as urgent as ever. Photo by Regina Wilson, California Black Media.

LaJuana Bivens, who has served in a number of roles within the NAACP, said California has seen an increase in civil rights violations and hate-related incidents.

“We have 52 branches, and they are constantly receiving complaints,” she said. “So, without the Stop the Hate, we would not be able to refer those cases up to attorneys at the state level. A lot of the people would not have had an opportunity to be heard.”

Carmen-Nicole Cox helps survivors of hate with their legal options. Photo courtesy of Carmen-Nicole Cox.

Carmen-Nicole Cox, an attorney who works with NAACP CA/HI – as a part of California’s Stop the Hate Program – provides legal consultation to victims of hate incidents and discrimination through her legal practice, the Cox Firm for Law and Policy.

She said the complaints she receives span a wide range of issues.

“People are having home builders and landlords refusing to provide repairs, a student was denied promotion in an academic program, and targeted scrutiny at work,” she said. “It’s typically employment; it’s housing; it’s education.

“We’ll meet and they’ll share their experiences,” she said. “And then I make assessments about possible legal claims.”

According to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), nearly 1,200 reports of hate against minority groups were submitted in 2024 through the CA vs Hate hotline and online portal for non-emergency incidents.

While the California/Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP, which has tens of thousands of members, does not directly investigate hate incidents or crimes, it plays a key role in connecting victims to the state’s reporting systems and support services.

Beyond responding to incidents, the organization continues to advocate on broader civil rights issues, including voting rights and legal protections. It has also worked to counter efforts at the state and federal levels that could weaken the voting power of communities of color.

Bivens recently traveled to Sacramento to speak with state lawmakers about voting rights during an advocacy day event hosted by the organization.

“It’s just so hard for communities of color to be up to date because of all of the confusing information coming from the federal level,” she said. “I love our great state of California because here it is possible to vote by mail and to vote early.

“And I’m seeing that trying to be eroded. So, I’m here to urge continued support for vote by mail and early voting.”

When Texas moved to redraw congressional districts in ways critics said would dilute minority voting strength, NAACP CA/HI supported the passage of Proposition 50 in California. The organization also intervened in United States v. Shirley Weber, where federal officials sought access to unredacted California voter records, including Social Security numbers, raising concerns about misuse and voter intimidation.

Cultivating the advocacy and leaderships of young people is central to NAACP’s mission to fight racism and dismantle inequality. Photo courtesy of California Black Media.

A federal district court dismissed that case in January 2026.

The organization’s current work builds on a long history of civil rights advocacy. Today, Bivens says, the organization’s mission remains as urgent as ever.

“We are the oldest, boldest, most feared Civil Rights organization,” Bivens said. “What we do every day is fight for better housing, education, economic development and political inclusion. We take it on because there are just so many people who need that support.

“You would be amazed that our phones ring every single day.”

Get Support After Hate:

California vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hotline and online portal offering confidential support for hate crimes and incidents. Victims and witnesses can get help anonymously by calling 833-8-NO-HATE (833-866-4283), Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. PT, or online at any time. Anonymous. Confidential. No Police. No ICE.

This story was produced in partnership with CA vs Hate. Join them for the first-ever CA Civil Rights Summit on May 11. More information at www.cavshate.org/summit.

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