Photo by Joshua Yospyn.

A so-called “Confederate heritage group” has leased land adjacent to Interstate 95 near Richmond to erect a 50-foot flag pole so they can fly a Confederate flag. Unsurprisingly, people are upset.

Virginia Flaggers founder Susan Hathaway said in an announcement “the flag will serve to welcome visitors and commuters to Richmond, and remind them of our honorable Confederate history and heritage.” She told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “The flag is being erected as a memorial to the memory and the honor of the Confederate soldiers who sacrificed, bled and died to defend Virginia from invasion.” The Virginia NAACP, however, sees the move as an “embarrassment.”

The group is best known “its frequent demonstrations outside of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and, more recently, the Museum of the Confederacy,” according to the Times-Dispatch. Both museums do not fly the Confederate flag outside their buildings.

The flag, which will be visible from the northbound lane of I-95, is expected to fly this September.