YouCentral: Gary Miller on the Confederate Flag Issue

SouthsideCentral is glad to publish any remarks or opinion pieces submitted by elected officials (or anybody else, for that matter). We do not edit the statements in any way, nor does the writer’s opinion necessarily represent the views of SouthsideCentral in any way.

Today, we’re giving the stage to Danville’s Vice-Mayor Dr. Gary Miller who talks about his viewpoint on Danville’s Confederate flag issue.

Gary Miller:

I consider myself to be a “Southerner” and I am proud to be called that. I have spent all but 2 years of my life here in Virginia. Last year after my three children had all moved up North, I told them that when I retire in a few years, “I am not moving a foot farther North that Danville Virginia”.

Naturally, I was shocked recently to see nine of my fellow southerners gunned down, in a church of all places! Here in the South we tend to be deeply religious regardless of our skin color. To kill innocent people while they are worshiping the Lord is abysmal to say the least. These are the sorts of attacks that we read about being carried out by ISIS or the Taliban.

These Black Americans were Southerners too! They lived in Charleston because they chose to, many of the victims were well off and could live anywhere that they wanted, but they chose Charleston, just as we chose Danville.

I watched in disbelief as one victim, State Senator Clementa Pickney, was carried by hearse to lay in State at the Capital. The American and the South Carolina flags were lowered at half mass, but the Confederate flag was not!

Now that the flag in South Carolina has come down it is time for the Confederate flag in Danville, which is on public property, to come down as well. It will complement the rest of the display inside the museum.

The Confederate flag has been too divisive an issue for way too long. It is too much of a distraction at a time when our city needs to close ranks and focus on what our priorities need to be. I want for us to look forward and not back.  I want for us to concentrate our efforts on educating our workforce, attracting new businesses, helping our current businesses expand, lowering our high school drop out rate, ensuring that we have the best schools and teachers. These are the issues that affect every one of us every day and these are the issues that deserve our full attention.

Our current City Manager is retiring. Selecting the best City Manager is critical to our continued progress and that needs to be a top priority. We also must continue the momentum gained by renovating the River District.  We have so many things to concentrate on, we must not lose our focus on the future.