ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997 TAG: 9704110070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE THE ROANOKE TIMES
It's the third year the governor has signed it, one of hundreds of routine proclamations a year, his aide said.
The director of the Virginia NAACP called on Gov. George Allen to resign immediately Thursday, saying his proclamation of Confederate History and Heritage Month is "deceptive, fascist and racist."
Allen's spokesman called the claim "utterly absurd."
The flap arose from an afternoon news conference, called by NAACP members who said honoring the Confederacy is akin to respect for slavery. They asked for all of Virginia's political candidates to weigh in, promising to "reward our friends and punish our enemies."
Allen signed the proclamation declaring April Confederate History and Heritage Month at the request of the state Sons of the Confederacy. This is the third year he has done so, spokesman Ken Stroupe said. He didn't sign one his first year in office.
The six-paragraph proclamation praises Confederate soldiers and their families for their "sacrifices on behalf of the cause."
"The significance of this era in the history of the Commonwealth and the nation continues to be a source of pride, honor and respect for millions of Americans," it reads.
Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People disagreed. "Why would I, a descendant of African heritage, want to pay tribute to those who fought against the Union?" asked NAACP coordinator Salim Khalfani.
Stroupe said the governor meant no slight to blacks. He distributed copies of other proclamations Allen has signed including Black History Month, Minority Enterprise Development Week and Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month.
The governor issues hundreds of proclamations a year, he said. So far this year, Allen has received 533 requests to declare such dates as Life Industry Week, National Safe Boating Week and Tae-kwon-do Day, Stroupe said. Most are routinely approved, he said, unless they involve a commercial endorsement or a political agenda the governor rejects, such as the one he rejected for World Population Awareness Day because of the population control methods the sponsors support.
"We denounce bigotry and hatred and slavery and anything that would discriminate against anyone in Virginia," Stroupe said. "The Confederate period is a part of Virginia's history. That doesn't mean we support everything that happened during it."
Virginia NAACP Director Linda Byrd-Harden accused Allen of being an ally to white supremacists, and of inflaming racial hatred throughout his tenure as governor. She said the NAACP has received calls from about 25 people, "racists and what appear to be white supremacists," using racial slurs to say they support Allen.
"We believe that his acts border on treason," Byrd-Harden said. "I think the governor should vacate the office now, because he has shown he cannot represent all people equally."
Allen was at the funeral of Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke on Thursday, and not available for comment. Stroupe said Allen has no plans to resign.
"I'm not surprised that this sort of thing would be occurring during an election year," Stroupe said. "People realize how absurd these types of things are."
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. The NAACP's Salim Khalfani, (left)by CNBLinda Byrd-Harden and Curtis Harris listen as the Rev. Antoine
Curtis III speaks at the news conference. color.