Former President Jimmy Carter told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “very few” Americans view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism.
The CNN host asked Mr. Carter if there were any instances from his time as Georgia governor where he “embraced or turned a blind eye” to symbols of the Confederacy that may have caused people pain.
The former president mentioned that his words on civil rights issues as governor landed him on the cover of Time magazine, and then said that “great progress” has been made.
“There are very few people that still look upon the Confederate flag as a racist symbol, but for those who feel that way, black people in our country, we should do away with the Confederate flag and its emblem as white superiority in any place that it exists,” Mr. Carter said, Mediaite reported Wednesday.
The former president’s comments are quite different than those he gave during an AARP Bulletin interview in June. During that interview he said that “many” Americans hold racist beliefs.
“The recent publicity about mistreatment of black people in the judicial and police realm has been a reminder that the dreams of the civil rights movement have not been realized. […] Many Americans still have racist tendencies or feelings of superiority to people of color,” Mr. Carter told the magazine.
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• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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