--- description: The request was voluntary. title: National Park Service Aims to Stop Sales of Confederate Flags image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt546fd80dcc8c952f/6988556d55a859f9dda8c972/confederate-flag.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Government](/tag/government/) ## Government Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # National Park Service Aims to Stop Sales of Confederate Flags by [Katy Osborn](/author/katy-osborn/) ## Katy Osborn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 24, 2015 9:54 PM CUT  Confederate flag Confederate flagDaniel Cooper&—Getty Images by [Katy Osborn](/author/katy-osborn/) ## Katy Osborn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 24, 2015 9:54 PM CUT _Please_ seems to be the word of the day from the National Park Service, which is [asking but not requiring](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/06/24/national-park-service-moves-to-stop-sales-of-confederate-flags/?postshare=1711435177158500 "undefined") that its associated retailers join a growing effort to stop the sale of Confederate flags and related products in the aftermath of the Charleston church massacre. According to the Washington _Post_, spokeswoman Kathy Kupper wrote in an email Wednesday that “The National Park Service is asking its cooperating associations, concessions, and partners to voluntarily withdraw sales in their stores of Confederate flags and other items, such as stickers, that depict the Confederate flag as a stand-alone feature.” The request comes after major U.S. retailers—including Walmart, Amazon, Sears, and eBay—pledged this week to stop selling Confederate flag-themed merchandise. A number of small and large retailers have pulled Confederate-related products from their offerings in response to mounting pressure after pictures of the man charged in the killings of nine black people emerged, showing him posing with the flag. If successful, the request could have wide-reaching effects. The National Park Service is entrusted with the care of more than 400 parks across the nation, and its response to the _Post_ noted more than 70 of them—including cemeteries, homes and other sites—”have resources that are related to the history of the Civil War.” \[[_Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/06/24/national-park-service-moves-to-stop-sales-of-confederate-flags/?postshare=1711435177158500 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3934746/national-park-service-confederate-flag-sales/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3934746/national-park-service-confederate-flag-sales/"},"headline":"National Park Service Aims to Stop Sales of Confederate Flags","datePublished":"2015-06-24T21:54:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:30:22.503Z","description":"The request was voluntary","url":"https://time.com/3934746/national-park-service-confederate-flag-sales/","keywords":["Government","Environment","Retail"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt546fd80dcc8c952f/6988556d55a859f9dda8c972/confederate-flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katy Osborn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katy-osborn/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt546fd80dcc8c952f/6988556d55a859f9dda8c972/confederate-flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Confederate flag","caption":"Confederate flag","creditText":"Daniel Cooper&—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/government/","name":"Government"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3934746/national-park-service-confederate-flag-sales/","name":"National Park Service Aims to Stop Sales of Confederate Flags"}}]}] ```