As opposition to the Confederate battle flag continues to gain political traction, Chester County is playing an important part in deposing the painful symbol. Pottsdown, PA, based Humphrys Flag Co., has announced it will not be manufacturing the flag for retail.

Humphrys has been making flags in Philadelphia since 1864 and moved its manufacturing base to Pottsdown in 1982. Tim O’Connor, the owner of Humphrys Flag Co., defended his decision, saying:

“It’s offensive, flags are symbols and by definition a symbol means what it conjures up in somebody’s mind. So if it conjures up oppression, as I’m sure it does to a lot of African Americans, it’s a bad symbol”

The Flag Manufacturers Association of America in Wayne, PA, that represents about 38 flag manufacturers and retailers is also having a serious discussion about whether they should continue to produce it.

Reggie Vanden Bosch, president of the association said of the controversy, “We don’t want to cause someone continued pain because of what it represents. We’ll definitely spend time as an industry group discussing that.”

O’Connor says Humphrys Flag Co. will only make the battle flag of the Confederate States of America for Civil War reenactments or movie productions. That’s it. Anyone looking to purchase the flag for any other reason should look elsewhere.