A black Mississippi man known for his steadfast support of the Confederate flag died Sunday in a bizarre car crash following a rally in Alabama, The Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported Sunday.
Anthony Hervey, 49, was described by the newspaper as an “fixture for the last two decades” in Oxford, Miss.
Hervey’s views on the Confederate flag were well-known in Oxford. He published a book in 2006 about his beliefs called “Why I Wave the Confederate Flag, Written by a Black Man: The End of Niggerism and the Welfare State.”
Hervey had been attending a rally on Sunday to support the presence of a Confederate statue in Linn Park in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Police told the Clarion-Ledger they were investigating the crash.
The MacAlester News-Capital newspaper reported that Hervey was driving back from from the rally when the crash took place in Mississippi.
His passenger, Arlene Barnum, a fellow black Confederate flag supporter, posted a series of frantic messages on Facebook before and after the crash. The first of them seemed to hint at another party being involved somehow: “They after us.”
Barnum told the News-Capital she didn’t know Hervey.
“I didn’t know him, really. I gave him a ride to the rally,” she told the newspaper on Sunday.
Barnum posted a video from what appeared to be her hospital bed to Facebook late Sunday to say she was alright.
“A lot of people thinking someone hacked my account and that maybe I’m dead or something,” she said in the video. “No, I didn’t die in the automobile accident. I was the one that survived it.”
Photo credit: Facebook user Arlene Barnum
h/t RawStory
The details in this article are a little bit confusing or are not well-written. She gave him a ride back from the rally but was the passenger?
Was she driving? Texting and driving? If so, then can’t blame someone else for the wreck. Lady, both hands on the wheel, especially if someone else driving is harassing you. That said, it is very sad that he died, but I think he was very misguided. Maybe he personally wasn’t offended, but hopefully he at least understood why other people of color would be.
Strange … but maybe not. It will be interesting to hear the results from the Mississippi State Highway Patrol’s investigation. It’s also strange the survivor of the crash was someone who “didn’t really know Hervey,” “gave Hervey a ride” but she was the passenger when the crash occurred. If, as she claimed, someone was chasing them and was the true cause of this deadly crash, then I hope that party is found and brought to justice.
Lordy lordy lordy, what has happen to old black johnny? Was he driving to fast or folding his confederate shit paper called a flag while changing lanes?
Also, just to be clear, if I’m ever pinned inside an upside down vehicle with gas leaking don’t tweet about it until after you’ve helped me out.