Group raises Confederate flag on Flag Day

TAMPA -- To cheers and applause, a super-sized Confederate flag went up this morning west of Interstate 75 at U.S. 92. Leaders of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said they hoisted the flag to commemorate Flag Day.

Thirty men stood on a concrete slab shortly before 8 a.m., each holding a piece of 100-pound flag. The occasion also drew dozens of onlookers, many of them wearing Confederate symbols on their clothing. Another group stood near their Harley-Davidson motorcycles, some wearing denim or leather vests emblazoned with the name of their club, the Hardcore Confederates.

Then there was Nelson Winbush of Kissimmee, one of the few black members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Winbush, a retired school principal, wore a charcoal suit to the event with suspenders and a Confederate flag tie.

"It's just a symbol that represents Southern heritage," said Winbush, 79, as the flag ascended a 139-foot pole. "And most people look at it and don't know what the hell they're looking at."

His grandfather, Louis Napoleon Nelson, fought on the Confederate side in the Civil War. Winbush was 5 when he died, but remembers some of the stories his grandfather told.

Several other African-American onlookers expressed measured support.

"Of course it's controversial," said Noah Thomas, 33, who is black. People ought to learn about their ancestries, he said. "But I think the flag is just a bit over the top."

The SCV has already installed two other Confederate flags in North Florida. Marion Lambert of the SCV, who spearheaded the local effort, said the Hillsborough flag will come down by 4 p.m. today. It could fly permanently as early as July.

-- Andrew Meacham, TImes Staff Writer