"General Lee" Car Stays at Illinois Auto Museum Amid Confederate Flag Debate - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 07-06-2020, 03:05 AM

"The Dukes of Hazzard" Car Remains at Illinois Auto Museum Despite Display of Confederate Flag
by Dino-Ray Ramos
July 5, 2020

As a reckoning wave of civic and social awareness hits the country and statues of Confederate figures in history topple, the use of the Confederate flag is finally being questioned and we are starting to see less and less of it.

NASCAR banned it and Mississippi is looking to change their flag but there is one instance where the emblem — which has been long-associated with racism — will remain: on a car from "The Dukes of Hazzard" in a museum in Illinois.

The Volo Auto Museum is home to the “General Lee”, the last 1969 Dodge Charger used during the first season of the classic TV series which ran 1979 through 1985. The car is stamped with the Confederate flag on the roof. Located outside of Chicago, the museum has said that the car will stay put despite the shift in the social landscape.

“We feel the car is part of history, and people love it,” museum director Brian Grams told the local Crystal Lake publication Northwest Herald. “We’ve got people of all races and nationalities that remember the TV show and aren’t offended by it whatsoever. It’s a piece of history and it’s in a museum.”

Grams said that since acquiring the car in 2005, the car has garnered no complaints.

He said: “Several people have reached out with positive comments about us leaving it on display complimenting us for leaving it there and not having a knee-jerk reaction to remove it like a lot of places are.”

Grams adds that they would not remove the General Lee as it is a piece of history and they wouldn’t remove it just like they wouldn’t think of removing the Nazi memorabilia displayed in the museum in the military section.

“If we’re going to get complaints about the General Lee being here, we’ve got much worse items over in our military building,” he said.

Ben Jones, who appeared on the series as Cooter and served in House of Representatives, has been an open supporter of the Confederate flag, saying that it is a symbol of Southern culture. He applauded the news that the museum was keeping the General Lee, posting on Facebook: “The Volo museum is one of the finest automobile museums in the nation. Good for them!!”

Another iteration of the General Lee was acquired by professional golfer Bubba Watson, but after winning it, he removed the Confederate flags from the car.

https://deadline.com/2020/07/dukes-o...um-1202977919/

TMC · 07-08-2020, 04:18 AM

The Dukes of Hazzard stars have differing views on the General Lee's Confederate flag controversy

A month ago, Amazon was reportedly considering pulling The Dukes of Hazzard from its IMDb TV streaming service amid the George Floyd police brutality protests and the taking down of Confederate monuments. The 1979-85 hit action comedy is still available for free on IMDb TV. "But a cloud hangs over Hazzard: What haunts the action comedy these days is the Confederate battle flag painted on the roof of the boys' ride, the General Lee, a fiery orange '69 Dodge Charger," says The Hollywood Reporter's Seth Abramovitch. He caught up with Bo Duke actor John Schneider, who thinks there really shouldn't be a controversy because the show has been a "unifying force." "I have never had an African-American come up to me and have any problem with it whatsoever," says the 60-year-old Schneider, adding that "the whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand." Last month, Schneider used his YouTube channel to see if others were offended by General Lee's Confederate flag. His co-star Tom Wopat, who played Bo's cousin Luke, strikes a more conciliatory tone. "The situation in the country has obviously changed in the last 40 years. I feel fortunate to be living in a time when we can address some of the injustices of the past," says the 68-year-old Wopat. "But the car is innocent." Dukes of Hazzard co-creator Gy Waldron, who's 87, says he "wholeheartedly support the Black Lives Matter movement and its quest to address racism around the world." But he adds that he grew up in Kentucky, where both the Confederate and American flags were flown proudly. "I had relatives fight on both sides of the Civil War and we honored both the American and Confederate flags," he says. "No one even connected the Confederate flag with slavery. It was simply a part of our Southern culture." Ben Jones, who played Cooter the mechanic before becoming a Democratic congressman representing Georgia, calls the controversy "a tragedy." "There are 80 million descendants of the Confederacy — one out of four people has that heritage," says Jones, who sells Dukes of Hazzard-related merchandise at his Cooter's Place online store. "Most of them have no problem with the flag at all," Jones asserts. "This was a family show. Black families watched it for generations. I know this. I had a (congressional) office right there in the Martin Luther King district. King's right-hand man Andy Young is a dear friend of mine. We couldn’t care less about rebel flags."

07-06-2020, 03:05 AM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,961	"General Lee" Car Stays at Illinois Auto Museum Amid Confederate Flag Debate *"The Dukes of Hazzard" Car Remains at Illinois Auto Museum Despite Display of Confederate Flag* by Dino-Ray Ramos July 5, 2020 As a reckoning wave of civic and social awareness hits the country and statues of Confederate figures in history topple, the use of the Confederate flag is finally being questioned and we are starting to see less and less of it. NASCAR banned it and Mississippi is looking to change their flag but there is one instance where the emblem — which has been long-associated with racism — will remain: on a car from "The Dukes of Hazzard" in a museum in Illinois. The Volo Auto Museum is home to the “General Lee”, the last 1969 Dodge Charger used during the first season of the classic TV series which ran 1979 through 1985. The car is stamped with the Confederate flag on the roof. Located outside of Chicago, the museum has said that the car will stay put despite the shift in the social landscape. “We feel the car is part of history, and people love it,” museum director Brian Grams told the local Crystal Lake publication Northwest Herald. “We’ve got people of all races and nationalities that remember the TV show and aren’t offended by it whatsoever. It’s a piece of history and it’s in a museum.” Grams said that since acquiring the car in 2005, the car has garnered no complaints. He said: “Several people have reached out with positive comments about us leaving it on display complimenting us for leaving it there and not having a knee-jerk reaction to remove it like a lot of places are.” Grams adds that they would not remove the General Lee as it is a piece of history and they wouldn’t remove it just like they wouldn’t think of removing the Nazi memorabilia displayed in the museum in the military section. “If we’re going to get complaints about the General Lee being here, we’ve got much worse items over in our military building,” he said. Ben Jones, who appeared on the series as Cooter and served in House of Representatives, has been an open supporter of the Confederate flag, saying that it is a symbol of Southern culture. He applauded the news that the museum was keeping the General Lee, posting on Facebook: “The Volo museum is one of the finest automobile museums in the nation. Good for them!!” Another iteration of the General Lee was acquired by professional golfer Bubba Watson, but after winning it, he removed the Confederate flags from the car. https://deadline.com/2020/07/dukes-o...um-1202977919/ Attached Images

07-08-2020, 04:18 AM	#2
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,545	The Dukes of Hazzard stars have differing views on the General Lee's Confederate flag controversy A month ago, Amazon was reportedly considering pulling The Dukes of Hazzard from its IMDb TV streaming service amid the George Floyd police brutality protests and the taking down of Confederate monuments. The 1979-85 hit action comedy is still available for free on IMDb TV. "But a cloud hangs over Hazzard: What haunts the action comedy these days is the Confederate battle flag painted on the roof of the boys' ride, the General Lee, a fiery orange '69 Dodge Charger," says The Hollywood Reporter's Seth Abramovitch. He caught up with Bo Duke actor John Schneider, who thinks there really shouldn't be a controversy because the show has been a "unifying force." "I have never had an African-American come up to me and have any problem with it whatsoever," says the 60-year-old Schneider, adding that "the whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand." Last month, Schneider used his YouTube channel to see if others were offended by General Lee's Confederate flag. His co-star Tom Wopat, who played Bo's cousin Luke, strikes a more conciliatory tone. "The situation in the country has obviously changed in the last 40 years. I feel fortunate to be living in a time when we can address some of the injustices of the past," says the 68-year-old Wopat. "But the car is innocent." Dukes of Hazzard co-creator Gy Waldron, who's 87, says he "wholeheartedly support the Black Lives Matter movement and its quest to address racism around the world." But he adds that he grew up in Kentucky, where both the Confederate and American flags were flown proudly. "I had relatives fight on both sides of the Civil War and we honored both the American and Confederate flags," he says. "No one even connected the Confederate flag with slavery. It was simply a part of our Southern culture." Ben Jones, who played Cooter the mechanic before becoming a Democratic congressman representing Georgia, calls the controversy "a tragedy." "There are 80 million descendants of the Confederacy — one out of four people has that heritage," says Jones, who sells Dukes of Hazzard-related merchandise at his Cooter's Place online store. "Most of them have no problem with the flag at all," Jones asserts. "This was a family show. Black families watched it for generations. I know this. I had a (congressional) office right there in the Martin Luther King district. King's right-hand man Andy Young is a dear friend of mine. We couldn’t care less about rebel flags."