Thread: Shoppers want mall retailer to remove Confederate flag merchandise

GRANDVILLE, MI -- A holiday pop-up shop at RiverTown Crossings that sells Confederate flag merchandise among its stock of T-shirts, scented shea butter

and 3-D art is generating complaints to the mall's management.

Jim Fryer and his wife, Sonja Schultz-Fryer, longtime Grand Rapids Public Schools teachers, are raising a red flag about the store, 3rd Dimension.

They are organizing a protest against the store for the day after Christmas.

"I am aware that this in no way breaks the law, but as a person who works with youth and children, I am concerned about the message sent to them especially

when racial issues in our country are so fragile," Fryer said.

Fryer says he is sensitive to what he sees as racist messages as the husband of an African American woman and the father of a biracial son and a Chinese daughter.

He and his wife teach at Burton Middle School.

Their complaints to the mall's management resulted in Jon Jaco being asked to remove a T-shirt from the entrance of his shop located near the first floor entrance of Sears.

The shirt features the image of a Confederate flag and the message:"If this shirt offends you, you need a history lesson."

The couple are the only two people who have have complained about the store's Confederate flag merchandise, Jaco said.

His shop was empty during the early afternoon of Christmas Eve. One person stopped in but left without buying the 3-D art he looked at during an MLive reporter's 20-minute visit to the shop.

"She was polite and spoke her opinion, which shows some respect," said Jaco of his conversation with Schultz-Fryer. "I was more than willing to hear what she had to say. I was hoping that would clear this up."

Wearing a black "Second Amendment" T-shirt, Jaco is also polite and attentive.

The Fryers say relocating the Confederate merchandise from the front of the store isn't enough. They want them removed from the store completely.

That isn't something Jaco is willing to do, partly because the Confederate merchandise is popular with customers, he says.

Two Confederate flags are displayed more prominently than the T-shirt that was moved to a table at the back of the shop. One is laid out on a table near the entrance where packages of flags are displayed.

The second hangs on a wall on the other side of the shop.

Jaco says the $15 Confederate flag is the best seller in his supply of 3-by5-foot nylon flags. Another top-seller is the Gadsden flag, which features a coiled rattlesnake and the words: "Don't tread on me."

The Revolutionary War flag has been used as a symbol in modern times by the Tea Party and Libertarians.

National retailers were embroiled in a similar controversy earlier this year after a white man, with ties to racists groups, opened fire at historically black church in Charleston, S.C., in June, killing nine.

Fury over the racist-motivated killings triggered a new wave of opposition against the Confederate flag, seen as the symbol of Southern racism. In a move to distance themselves from the controversy,

Wal-Mart, e-Bay, Amazon, Target and Sears were among scores of retailers that quickly removed Confederate merchandise from stores and online sites.

Among Southerners, the 13-star saltire in red, white and blue flag symbolized defiance against the federal government at time when the U.S. Supreme Court and federal lawmakers were dismantling

decades of segregation and Jim Crow laws that perpetuated institutional racism against blacks.

"I'm not really familiar with the '60s era. The 1800s that is more where I am," said Jaco, when asked if he knew why the flag is seen as a racist symbol.

For Jaco, the Confederate flag is about being a rebel and standing up for the rights of the little people against big government.

"The Civil War was started over state rights," said Jaco. "Personally, this country needs another civil war. The government is too big.

The government can make any law they want and we, the little people, don't have any control over it. They have too much power."

RiverTown Crossings management didn't directly answer MLive and The Grand Rapids Press questions about whether the shopping center reviews what its tenant retailers sell, or whether it will

allow shoppers to hold a protest in front of 3rd Dimension on Saturday, Dec. 26, as planned by the Fryers.

But Terry McInnis, the mall's general manager, did release this statement to MLive:

"At RiverTown Crossings, one of our top priorities is to create an enjoyable shopping experience for all of our guests.

We continually work with our tenants to ensure that their merchandising creates the best shopping experience for our customers."

Jaco, who is lives in Allegan, says he hasn't received complaints about his Confederate merchandise before.

He sets up temporary shops in West Michigan malls during the holidays, and sells at festivals, fairs and other events during the rest of the year.

This is the first time he has rented temporary space at the Grandville mall, but has 3rd Dimension seasonal shops at The Crossroads Mall in Kalamazoo and Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek.

"I have clientele established there that drives more business," Jaco said

While the shops are under the moniker 3rd Dimension in a nod to the wide selection of framed 3-D art, his business is named J.C. and Associates, he said.

The conflict should resolve itself soon since Jaco's lease runs out Dec. 31, he says.

Shoppers want mall retailer to remove Confederate flag merchandise | MLive.com