Green Party Senate Candidate Declares Apologies Are Not Enough: Space Must Go

BLOOMFIELD, NJ (September 1, 2017) — Troy Knight-Napper, Green Party challenger for State Senate in the 28th Legislative District — which includes Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Nutley, and parts of Newark — issued the following statement in response to Assemblyman Parker Space’s dismissal of concerns raised about Space’s recent photo with the Confederate flag:

We must all acknowledge that the Confederate flag is a symbol of a traitorous regime, a symbol that in its current use stands an emblem of hate, racism, and slavery. There is absolutely nothing lighthearted or funny about implying that white people would ‘have it made’ if they could still own black people as property. No leader in any office should honor the Confederacy, and no responsible leader would ever make light of a symbol that even in its historical context must be discussed with care.

In order to progress from our legacy of slavery, segregation, and white supremacy, we must have leaders in office who recognize the need to learn from our past and move forward, who do not embrace the tarnished history America had to struggle through on its path to being great, and who recognize the changes we must make to ensure a better, more just, and more perfect union.

As a representative of a new generation of leaders, I condemn any actions that promote white supremacy, the Confederacy, racism, or neo-Nazism. And I call for the immediate resignation of any public or elected official who would celebrate the Confederate flag and the despicable agenda it represents.

# # #