RICHMOND, Va. -- As people in the Richmond area - and across the nation - fuss and discuss flags and other symbols, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones ordered a huge U.S. flag to hang at the very top of City Hall Wednesday.
There was no announcement. No speeches. No fanfare. (The music in the video report was added in the editing process.) Most local media outlets missed it.
City maintenance workers carefully scrambled on ladders to make it happen at about 5:30 p.m.
The mayor strolled out on the observation deck as they worked, but didn't stay for the actual unfurling.
"It's just people have been approaching me on the street about the controversy over a flag, and it seems to be pulling people apart," Jones said. "So I think the American flag is something that unifies us. And so we're going to fly it for a little while."
Jones has not supported removing Confederate monuments or statues, asking instead to add new ones representing other aspects of Richmond history.He has also tried to focus attention current practices that are harming African-American lives, such as the city housing projects and other programs that isolate and concentrate those in poverty.
We spoke with numerous people at City Hall and no one remembers a flag flying from the very top of it. Watch the video to see the crew getting it out.
