Pro-Confederate Monument Billboard Causes Controversy in Kemp, Texas

Just over a month after the Dallas City Council voted to remove a Confederate War Memorial in the city's Pioneer Cemetery, a billboard criticizing the decision to remove it and a statue of Robert E. Lee has sparked controversy in the small North Texas town of Kemp.

The billboard depicts a man in a grey uniform urinating on the Dallas skyline, and features the Second Confederate Navy Jack along with the words "I Support Confederate Heritage".

KDFW-TV reports that the sign stands along Highway 175 in Kemp (about 45 miles southeast of Dallas), and that city officials say the don't know who put it up. What they do know is that they'd like to see it gone.

The station's attempts to contact the billboard owner reportedly went unanswered.

Mayor Laura Peace told KDFW the sign is vulgar, and that she and other residents are not comfortable with it being across from a daycare and a church. She said the politics are debatable, but that the sign is not appropriate or good for her community.

KDFW also interviewed Jimmy Nelson, a man driving through Kemp who said he believes Confederate monuments should be left in place due to their historical significance, but that the billboard wasn't a good idea.

WFAA spoke to a man who said he has nothing against the flag, but that the billboard probably isn't something people want their kids seeing as they drive down the road.

Mayor Peace told WFAA that she doesn't want people to think the billboard reflects the values of the Kemp community.

KTVT spoke with Kemp resident Ray Herndon, who says the flag and the message don't bother him. Rather, he's bothered by the image of the man urinating, which he called "ignorant".