
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 22, 1994                   TAG: 9409230110
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DANVILLE                                 LENGTH: Medium

NORTH: REBEL FLAG `PART OF HERITAGE'

Campaigning in the city that was the last capital of the Confederacy, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North on Wednesday paid tribute to a group that promotes the preservation of Confederate flags and memorabilia.

''It's part of the great heritage of this state of Virginia, and there's absolutely no reason for political correctness,'' North told R. Wayne Byrd, president of the Danville chapter of the Heritage Preservation Association, at an evening rally.

North's reference was to Byrd's T-shirt, which bore a small replica of the Confederate flag and the words ''Heritage Not Hate.''

The association, headquartered in Atlanta, states its purpose as working "to ensure that history accurately records and reflects the deeds and ideals of Southern culture." Members say the group's views do not reflect racial bias and a flier handed out Wednesday said that "cultural ignorance will undoubtedly breed hate and fear."

But the association's goals have angered some blacks, who argue that Confederate symbols conjure such painful images that they should be eliminated from the public arena. Danville has been the scene of the state's most prominent debate on the subject ever since June 1993, when a black city councilwoman questioned the flying of a Confederate flag outside the publicly owned Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.

The flag was removed, but a compromise later allowed the banner to fly on certain Confederate holidays and for educational programs.

Asked about his comment Wednesday in support of the group, North elaborated: "I'm not a political correctness freak. I happen to believe this state has a great heritage." North replied "yeah" when asked if he supports the association's goals.

The candidate said he likes to tell a story - "I don't know whether it's apocryphal," he said - about an incident that allegedly occurred the night before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Listening to a concert on the South Lawn of the White House, Lincoln was struck by the beauty of a particular song and asked that the concertmaster play it again, according to North's story. Lincoln was reportedly informed that the song was "Dixie." North quoted the former president as saying, "Play it again twice, because enough people have died on both sides in this war that we should all enjoy such beautiful music."

"That's not a racial slur, that's not political incorrectness ... [it's] paying homage to great people who died in a terrible war," North said.

by CNB