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Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who could be the first black woman to win a governor’s seat in U.S. history, admitted Monday that she burned the state flag on the steps of the Georgia Capitol in 1992.
At the time, the state flag included a Confederate symbol.
Abrams, who is black, appeared in a photo in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June 1992 alongside other students burning the flag at the state Capitol.
Abrams’ campaign said in a statement Monday that her actions were part of a “permitted, peaceful protest against the Confederate emblem in the flag,” which led to the flag being changed.
“During Stacey Abrams’ college years, Georgia was at a crossroads, struggling with how to overcome racially divisive issues, including symbols of the Confederacy, the sharpest of which was the inclusion of the Confederate emblem in the Georgia state flag,” the statement read, according to the New York Times.
“This conversation was sweeping across Georgia as numerous organizations, prominent leaders, and students engaged in the ultimately successful effort to change the flag.”
The flag was redesigned in 2001 to minimize the Confederate symbol. In 2003, a new flag was unveiled without the symbol.
Abrams campaign acknowledged the flag burning on the eve of her debate against Republican candidate Brian Kemp. Kemp is leading Abrams by just 2 points in an average of polls by Real Clear Politics.
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