Salt Lake NAACP responds to viral BLM Utah post

"The NAACP does not agree with that statement and rejects the idea that flying the American flag is a racist message." Photo: Jacob Morrison

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. — This past weekend, the president of the Utah NAACP chapter, Jeanetta Williams, responded to recent posts by Black Lives Matter Utah (BLM).

BLM Utah achieved virality over the 4th of July weekend with a Facebook post that labeled the American flag “a symbol of hatred.”

“The NAACP does not agree with that statement and rejects the idea that flying the American flag is a racist message,” said Williams in a prepared statement. “The flag stands for all the people who have lived and served to bring about the best of the American experience, that all people are created equal. Real American patriots have stood for equality and justice for all.”

The post prompted backlash from other parties as well. The Utah GOP published a statement saying “Utahns should never tolerate SHAMEFUL and DIVISIVE rhetoric like this. The American flag is a symbol of freedom, opportunity, and equality to the world, NOT a symbol of racism!”

The post even caught the eye of Gov. Spencer Cox. He issued a statement to the Deseret News last Thursday. “Our flag represents the greatest country in the history of the world. It stands for freedom and opportunity for all,” he said. “It has stood the test of time as a beacon to the free and oppressed and too many lives have been lost to preserve that symbol and all its stands for. I refuse to let any white supremacy or Black Lives Matter groups change that.”

Despite all the controversy, Lex Scott, founder of the Utah BLM chapter, sought to deescalate tensions between her organization and the century-old civil rights group.

“When I started my career in civil rights, the first thing I did was start attending meetings for the NAACP,” Scott said in a Facebook video. Now, I found out really quickly it wasn’t really the place for me. So I started two civil rights organizations. But, I continued to be a member of the NAACP, continued to support the NAACP, and throughout the years as people have tried to pit Black Lives Matter against the NAACP- I have not taken the bait. I encourage all of my followers, and all of the members of Black Lives Matter Utah to continue to support the NAACP. Buy memberships, support the work of Jeanetta Williams.”