Beginning with speeches, a prayer, and patriotic music, the Southern Pride Convoy rolled out of the Crestview fairgrounds Saturday morning on a 100-mile trip down to Highway 98, north through Pensacola, and on to East Milton. Despite protest, convoy organizer, Sherri Jones, said the convoy received a much greater positive response than negative.
Jones said she thought she was the odd ball, being a strong confederate flag supporter, but during the overwhelming support in the rally, she said, “It was like being in church…I had tears in my eyes from joy.” She added, “I had goose bumps all day.”
Speaking of the Confederate flag, Jones said, “It’s what America was founded on, God, country, pride, heritage, strength, all words that come to mind, and the courage to learn from past mistakes. We don’t have a hate problem but an ignorance problem and our government has the means to put an end to it.”
The convoy was supposed to stop by the Milton Courthouse around 12:30, but didn’t make it there until two hours later. Jones said, “We had a couple people in the rally trying to make us look bad.” She said a red PT Cruiser and a red Jeep posed as supporters with flags and stopped traffic, weaving in and out. She said, “Beer got splattered and they flicked the bird,” at those in the convoy. Stopping to deal with the false convoy members caused the delay as well as confused others resulting in some following different routes into Milton, according to Jones.
Despite these two detractors, Jones said the convoy picked up many more supporters. All told, she said the convoy ended up with close to 75 vehicles. “We picked up more from Fort Walton Beach, Navarre, and Pensacola.”
Dorrian Vance was part of the convoy, the organizer of the Southern Strong Facebook group created in response, she said, to Crestview City Council debating removal of the controversial flag. On its page, the group is described as “people who wish to see the Confederate flags kept flying as a representation of history and heritage. We will discuss protests and rallies in the local area where our support is needed in conjunction with Sons of the Confederacy and other legitimate groups. This is not about hate, no white supremacy groups.”
Vance said some people are scared to support the Confederate flag due to the possibility of being labeled a racist. However, she said if more gather in support, then more will come out.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Despite protest, Confederate flag convoy wraps in Milton