Political activist John Sims is encouraging people to join him in celebrating Memorial Day by burning and burying the Confederate flag.
The Sarasota, Florida, resident created a controversy last year when he organized a 13-state Confederate Flag funeral across the South in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
“The strong response of Burn and Bury event and the continued support for the rebel flag lead me to think about doing this as [an] annual event,” Sims said of last year’s Burn and Bury event, which he says was inspired be the Emanuel A.M.E Church shootings in South Carolina.
Now, Sims is urging Americans to burn and bury Confederate flags for the second year, even if they do not have any to burn.
The website burnandbury.org contains a two-minute Burn and Bury Support Kit YouTube video for the song “Burn And Bury Remix: A John Sims Project.”
Sims told ThinkProgress that he wants to make his Burn and Bury Memorial an annual event because it’s a “way to ritualistically confront through reflection and catharsis, the pain and trauma of a very horrific part of American history.”
John Sims is leading this charge to honor those who fought against slavery. And his effort started last year when he organized 13 Confederate flag burnings across 13 southern states.
Sims says he plans to broadcast this year’s protest live online via Twitter’s streaming service Periscope.
At the time of this article’s publishing, Sims’ campaign is nearly nonexistent on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Sims’ Confederate flag activism comes on the heels of federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, banning Confederate flags at national cemeteries.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson.
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