Confederate flag at Massachusetts construction site in triggers outcry, diversity training
FITCHBURG, Massachusetts — When Haley Hills drove past the confederate flag on a Massachusetts highway construction site, she doubled back to drive past again and make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.
Sure enough, she and a friend were right, and this time they captured it on video.
"I was just blown away by how brazen it was," Hills said. "Just shocked."
The owner of a pavement company said an employee had hung the flag at a state Department of Transportation construction site on Route 2.
William Garrity, the owner of Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc., said that the employee found the Confederate flag discarded on the side of the road during construction and hung it thinking it would be fine to do so. But, Garrity said, it was something that has never happened before and something he doesn’t want happening again.
The employee who hung the flag was not fired, as the matter is being handled internally, but will be undergoing diversity training, he said.
There will be diversity training for other employees, Garrity said, and the risk manager will also meet with each crew to discuss the matter further during their Monday morning “toolbox talks” to make clear “this is not something we stand for.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation provided the following statement:
"We have determined that the flag was being displayed by Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc. of Bloomfield, CT, a subcontractor performing work associated with an interstate paving project on Route 2 in the Fitchburg area. MassDOT prohibits the display of the confederate flag and similar paraphernalia and has informed the contractor that they will not be allowed to perform further work until steps are taken to remove the flag."
Hills, an attorney who lives in Winchendon, Massachusetts, said she was motivated to share the video and raise awareness of the issue because "you can't be silent in the face of hatred."
When she learned it was a DOT project, she said she knew there would be policies about these types of symbols and that if attention were brought to it, it would likely be resolved more quickly.
Hills said that after the shock settled in, she began to wonder how Black employees at the company might feel after seeing the flag, and if it was just a "dumb mistake" by an employee, or something more indicative of a work culture that empowers individuals to act in that way.
But when she learned about how the company had responded and the plans to have employees undergo diversity training, she said she felt a bit better, especially if it is a genuine effort to change the work culture and create a better working environment for employees of color.
"I don't know what more I could ask of them," she said. "I am suspicious of how genuine their motivations are, and how much of it is just placating people."
However, Hills is happier with the company's response than MassDOT's "lukewarm" response, which she said could have had a more positive message and taking a harder stance against symbols like the Confederate flag.
"Let the people of Massachusetts know why these symbols aren't welcome here. Let's let's talk about our values … and not shy away from that," she said. "Because clearly whoever put that flag up isn't, and if they're not going to be shy, we can't we can't be shy when we're talking about the positive message."
Garrity’s company was hired as a subcontractor to mill the asphalt on Route 2 by J.H. Lynch & Sons of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Garrity said, which was hired by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to work on the project.
When J.H. Lynch was made aware of the flag, it sent personnel to the site and immediately ordered the flag taken down, Garrity said. By the time he found out, late Monday evening, the flag had already been removed.
The flag had to be taken down before the company could start the job, he said.
A man describing himself as a spokesperson for J.H. Lynch confirmed that the company was hired by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and then subcontracted Garrity's company.
"That Confederate flag was not related to, or had any association with J.H. Lynch," the spokesperson said. "It's not part of our company. It has nothing to do with our project and who J.H. Lynch stands for."
The spokesperson said the company declined to comment further on the incident.
Aside from a U.S. flag painted onto a piece of equipment by the manufacturer, the Garrity said his company does not allow any kind of flags to be hung from its equipment.
“Nobody's allowed to do anything on any of our equipment or say anything on any of our platforms,” he said. “It’s just uncalled for.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Confederate flag hung at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, road paving site
