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---
title: Obama Confederate Flag: Protesters Greet President in Oklahoma
description: As many as 10 people were spotted waving flags as Obama's motorcade pulled up to the hotel he stayed at in Oklahoma City Wednesday night.
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author: Jacob Koffler
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article:published_time: 2015-07-16T15:29:36.000Z
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og:title: Obama Greeted by Confederate Flag Wavers in Oklahoma
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt982b7187d4a96815/69885b242dce012e639e4a6b/oklahoma-city-obama-confederate-flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Obama Greeted by Confederate Flag Wavers in Oklahoma

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## Video: Watch: The Confederate Flag Removed From SC Statehouse

[Watch (HLS stream): Watch: The Confederate Flag Removed From SC Statehouse](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xKTPTJGx.m3u8) (1:36)

![Watch: The Confederate Flag Removed From SC Statehouse](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xKTPTJGx/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2015-07-10. Watch: The Confederate Flag Removed From SC Statehouse_


by 

[Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/)


## Jacob Koffler


Jul 16, 2015 3:29 PM UTC

![Barack Obama confederate flag oklahoma](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt982b7187d4a96815/69885b242dce012e639e4a6b/oklahoma-city-obama-confederate-flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel where President Barack Obama is staying on July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City.

People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel where President Barack Obama is staying on July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City. Evan Vucci—AP

by 

[Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/)


## Jacob Koffler


Jul 16, 2015 3:29 PM UTC

Protesters waving Confederate flags [greeted](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/in-oklahoma-protesters-greet-obama-with-confederate-flags-120207.html) President Obama on Wednesday as he arrived in Oklahoma City.

The handful of demonstrators—who told reporters they believe the Confederate flag is a symbol of heritage, not hate—were seen with the flags as Obama’s motorcade pulled up to the hotel where he stayed Wednesday night.

The flag wavers were led by a black man named Andrew Duncomb, who calls himself the “Black Rebel.”

“We don’t believe it’s a symbol of racism,” Duncomb told [KFOR](http://kfor.com/2015/07/15/we-dont-believe-its-a-symbol-of-racism-confederate-flags-fly-downtown-as-president-drives-in/). “They’re blaming the racist problems on the flag and not on the real problems of America.”

Obama was in Oklahoma to deliver a speech at Durant High School on the expansion of economic opportunity, including for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. On Thursday, he was set to make history as the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, heading to a correctional facility in El Reno. Obama has publicly criticized flying the Confederate flag, saying it “[belongs in a museum](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/obama-confederate-flag%5Fn%5F7624034.html).”

\[[_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/in-oklahoma-protesters-greet-obama-with-confederate-flags-120207.html)\]


## Transcript

[ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] [ UNKNOWN ] America [ APPLAUSE ]

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