FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: G. Stuart Smith, producer, (516) 463-4270
Titus Rush, Station Manager, (352-392-5551, ext. 1102
HERITAGE OR HATE? LOOKS AT THE CONTROVERSIAL USE OF
CONFEDERATE SYMBOLS IN PUBLIC PLACES
Heritage or Hate? is a documentary which looks at the controversial use of Confederate symbols in public
places – in particular the Confederate flag. Those who support the flag say its beginnings were innocuous:
merely a symbol of recognition on the battlefield for Southern soldiers. Others, especially many African
Americans, say the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism and hate. Those trying to preserve Southern heritage
and culture, however, say the flag was taken over by hate groups that misrepresented the true nature of the flag’s
history.
The story unfolds through the eyes of those trying to preserve the heritage as well as those who have
witnessed the Confederate flag “in their face” in efforts to intimidate them.
One of the primary characters is Walt Hilderman, a Civil War re-enactor. He cherishes history, but recognizes
that his great-great grandfather, a Southern soldier in the War Between the States who also owned slaves, did not
admit that slavery is wrong. Now Hilderman finds he is fighting a losing battle to preserve the Confederate battle
flag.
Also featured is the story of Minniejean Brown Trickey. She is an African American, one of the Little Rock
Nine, who could only attend school in with the help of U.S. soldiers while protestors with both Confederate and
American flags shouted at the students.
The documentary shows conflicts in communities throughout the South and even one northern community.
South Carolina is still struggling over the use of the Confederate flag on public property. Despite removing the
flag from the state capitol dome, it remains on a soldier’s monument at the capitol; as a result the NAACP boycott
of the state continues.
In Charlotte, North Carolina the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) have been fighting the city’s removal of
a Confederate flag and flagpole from a Confederate cemetery on city-owned property. The documentary also
includes disputes over flags in Georgia and Alabama as well as how students wearing clothing with the flag are
handled in America’s schools.
Heritage or Hate? chronicles the turmoil caused by an African American artist’s display of the Confederate
flag hanging from a gallows at Gettysburg College, just outside the battleground where thousands died for the
flag. SCV members protested the exhibition saying it was a “lynching” that was a hate crime against their ethnic
group.
Though the scenes in Heritage or Hate? primarily take place in the South, the controversy over the flag
resonates in every corner of the nation. It is a classic clash between freedom of speech and the rights of others
who are offended by that speech.
G. Stuart Smith, former WUFT-TV/DT News Director produced the documentary. Other documentary
productions include Bridge to Cuba that aired on WUFT. Smith is currently teaching at Hofstra University in New
York.
About WUFT-TV/DT:
The studios of public television station WUFT-TV/DT are located at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The
station serves as a training facility for UF Telecommunication students and will celeb rate its 50 th anniversary in
2008.
About American Public Television
For 46 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation’s public
television stations. APT is known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly
programming. It has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that
strengthen and customize their schedules, such as America's Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Battlefield
Britain, The Big Comfy Couch, Globe Trekker, Great Museums, Lidia's Family Table, Rick Steves' Europe, P.
Allen Smith's Garden Home, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs and classic
movies. For more information about APT's programs and services, visit APTonline.org.
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