Gulfcoast...did you read this.

[Sprig]

» More From Today's Mobile Register

12/17/02

By STEVE MYERS
Staff Reporter

Two shopping malls in Huntsville have evicted a vendor selling Dixie Outfitters merchandise, which combines images of the Confederate Battle Flag with trucks, wildlife and dogs.

Their decisions follow last weekend's eviction of a similar vendor from Colonial Mall Bel Air of Mobile, which came under pressure -- including a threatened boycott, according to the mall's general manager -- from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The NAACP is prepared to raise the issue in other malls in Alabama as well, said the Rev. R.L. Shanklin of Huntsville, the group's state president. NAACP branches throughout the state have been asked to report similar vendors, and so far one has been reported in southeast Alabama, Shanklin said Monday.

The Battle Flag controversy has simmered throughout the South for years. Some people say the Battle Flag, which has a blue St. Andrew's Cross with 13 stars on a red field, symbolizes racism. Battle Flag activists and some Civil War buffs counter that the flag represents the South's Confederate history, a subject broader than its racial components.

The NAACP investigated complaints at Parkway Place and Madison Square Mall late last week, Shanklin said. NAACP members asked to speak with mall management, but they had already left for the day.

"Our complaint was that they (the kiosks) were in a public place where everyone has the right to come and shop," Shanklin said. "And that it was offensive to some of the shoppers."

Shopping malls are private property, a point made last week by the general manager of Colonial Mall Bel Air, who said people couldn't protest on the mall's property.

The NAACP never actually contacted the management of the Huntsville malls, but the organization learned that the kiosks had been covered up during the weekend, Shanklin said.

The founder of Dixie Hot Stuff, the company told to leave the Huntsville locations, said he was told Friday night that his merchandise was being removed because of what happened in Mobile.

Terry Bagwell said Dixie Hot Stuff, based in Cullman, carries about 160 of Dixie Outfitters' 600 or so total prints. "Most is dogs and puppies and fish and deer. If we've got something that does offend them, we (were) willing to take them off the shelf and replace it with another print."

But, Bagwell said, he was told there wasn't room for negotiation.

Employees at the malls, both of which are owned by CBL & Associates Properties Inc., confirmed that Dixie Hot Stuff's kiosks were closed over the weekend.

Marty Dubey, the marketing director at Madison Square Mall, said the kiosk was closed "due to the sensitive nature of their merchandise." The company had been there since July, during which time the mall received few complaints, she said.

Sherri Williams, marketing director at Parkway Place, said Dixie Hot Stuff's contract was ended because it was a temporary contract. The kiosk at that location had been there since the mall opened in October, and she said she didn't know of any complaints.

Colonial Mall Bel Air's decision to kick out Camo Unlimited, a similar vendor, has garnered criticism from people supporting the display of the Battle Flag. Protesters showed up near the mall Saturday.

[peewee]

I bet they dont kick the stores selling Malcom X shirts out of the mall.

[h2o_dog]

I would love to see the the NAACP boycott our mall. Maybe I should open one of those kiosks myself. Sell the merchandise below cost as a not-for-profit community service.

[GulfCoast]

Someone is going to have a problem if that gets pushed.