Why the Confederate flag flies twice a year in Old Town Alexandria

By Patricia Sullivan
July 8 at 7:25 PM

Twice a year, Alexandria city employees hang three Confederate flags from traffic light poles in Old Town, at a busy intersection guarded by the statue of a pensive Southern soldier ... In the past, the job of hanging the flags on Robert E. Lee’s birthday and Confederate Memorial Day sometimes fell to African American employees, according to a now-retired supervisor, who called the task “disgusting” ... Mayor William D. Euille (D) said the council, which is currently in summer recess, will review its policies on Confederate flags, statues, building and street names when it reconvenes in September. He and the other six council members each said the time has come for the city to stop raising the Confederate flag on city property ... The Confederate flags raised by city workers belong to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as does the statue of the soldier. The organization’s Alexandria chapter president referred questions about the flag ritual to national organization President General Pamela Trammell, who did not return phone calls Wednesday ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/why-the-confederate-flag-flies-twice-a-year-in-old-town-alexandria/2015/07/08/e37048a2-24b5-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html