Los Angeles (AFP)
NASCAR announced Thursday the immediate ban on the Confederate flag during its races following multiple calls against this banner seen by many as a symbol of slavery and racism.
"The presence of the Confederate flag is prohibited for all NASCAR events," she said in a statement.
Displaying this flag "goes against our commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment" to fans and competitors, added the governing body of this very popular car championship in the United States.
The Confederate flag is very frequently waved around and on NASCAR circuits, particularly in the south of the United States.
An image that many people no longer want to see within this environment, in a burning context where demonstrations have been taking place for two weeks all over the country to protest against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd May 25 in Minneapolis.
Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, the only black driver on the circuit, asked that the Confederate flag be removed from the sites, arguing on Sunday after a race that he "had no place in the sport".
"No one should feel uncomfortable when attending a Nascar race. So it starts with the Confederate flags, you have to get them out of here," he insisted, wearing a T-shirt. bearing the inscription "I Can't Breathe" using the words of Floyd before he died suffocated by the knee of a white policeman leaning on his neck.
Wallace is scheduled to compete in a championship race on Martinsville Speedway (Virginia) on Wednesday evening at the wheel of a Chevrolet painted in the colors of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
© 2020 AFP