Amid Black Lives Matter protests, the auto racing company has decided to remove the Confederate flag.
NASCAR announced that the Confederate flag is now banned from all races and properties. The move came after Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s sole Black driver, recently turned the spotlight on it and called for it to be removed. The flag, which is essentially a symbol of slavery and racism, has been a feature in races for over 70 years.
“Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties,” NASCAR said.
However, there have been no further indications on how this will be implemented and what kind of penalties there will be for anyone with the flag. Currently, NACAR races have resumed without the presence of supporters as of last month.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 10, 2020
This isn’t the first time the issue has been addressed, the former Chairman Brian France previously attempted to have the flag banned but was met with anger from fans. However, as Black Lives Matter protests have quite explicitly demonstrated, the vast majority of the world is no longer tolerating racism. The movement was sparked by the death of George Floyd who died after having his airways cut off by a police officer in Minneapolis but has gone on to draw attention to an endless list of police brutality cases in the country.
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