Selwyn Jones, George Floyd’s uncle, is calling out the Gettysburg Police Department in South Dakota for its logo which contains an emblem of the Confederate flag.
During an interview with Minneapolis’ Star Tribune, Jones expressed concern about the logo insisting it has “got to go.”
The logo features the American and Confederate flags positioned behind a cannon.
Jones, who is the brother of George Floyd’s mother and a three-year resident of Gettysburg, detailed his recent phone conversation with the town’s mayor Bill Wuttke and insisted the city should consider changing its police department logo.
“Bill, we really have the Confederate flag on our police uniforms?” Jones said to the publication about his call with the mayor. “Man, that’s got to go.”
It’s NEVER about racism.
— FrothyCapSteadySlap (@TennesseeChris) June 12, 2020
It’s about history, according to the Gettysburg, SD police department.
History?
The rebel flag was added in 2009, AFTER the election of Obama,
in a state founded 24 years after the Civil War ended,
in a town founded in 1907. pic.twitter.com/oNced6WNs5
Wuttke reportedly told Jones, “We’ll see about it.”
However, Jones expressed apprehension about Wuttke’s claims saying, “That’s what a white guy in control and power says. ‘We’ll see about it.’ … Whatever.”
The mayor told the publication that he does not support changing the logo as he argued that the majority of residents in Gettysburg do not believe the logo is racist.
“We’re not wanting the liberals and the press telling us we have to change it. People here do not feel it’s racism,” he said.
“It’s so ridiculous; 99 percent of the people don’t have any idea [that the Confederate flag is on the insignia]. It’s just something that’s there. I’ve had more local people in favor of it than against it,” Wuttke added.
The Gettysburg City Council also held a stance similar to Wuttke as they defended the logo as a representation of “heritage.” However, there is now a petition calling for the removal of the Confederate symbol for the logo.
Noting historical facts about the Civil War as it relates to South Dakota, the petition argues that the Confederacy was “a blatantly racist organization” and “not a fundamental part of our state’s history.”
“South Dakota did not exist until 24 years AFTER the Civil War. The confederacy was a blatantly racist organization that is not a fundamental part of our state’s history,” the petition reads. “This heritage is not ours, it has no place here.”
The petition now has more than 4,000 signatures. Despite Wuttke’s position on the logo, Jones is confident it will soon be a thing of the past.
“I know my neighbors will listen in order to understand the history of hurt that African-Americans and other people of color have experienced,” Jones wrote, per the Star Tribune. “I am also sure that the flag issue in Gettysburg will be resolved because the killing of my nephew George Floyd is offensive to all lovers of freedom.”
Jones’ remarks about the Confederate-inspired police department logo came as he also expressed concern about the handling of his nephew’s case.
While speaking with reporters outside of the Hennepin County Courthouse, he stressed his concern that the judicial system is flawed.
