Civil rights leaders are rallying opposition to a Confederate battle flag that flies over Interstate 95 in Virginia.
But the flag is on private property in Stafford County, and the owner vows the flag will stay as a symbol of Southern heritage.
The Stafford chapter of the NAACP tells the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg that it has collected 200 signatures on a petition protesting the flag. NAACP President Aston Haughton calls the flag a "symbol of hatred and oppression."
He is hopeful the petition will encourage lawmakers to ban such symbols.
The deadly attack on an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, has sparked a national debate on symbols of the Confederacy.
Earlier this week, Gov. Terry McAuliffe moved to have the Confederate flag removed from state license plates.
