The U.S. Navy is working to ban the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces on Navy installations, ships and aircraft, the service said Tuesday, as the military and the country as a whole grapple with questions about racial inequality.
The Navy made the move amid protests across the United States and other countries sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
In a statement, the Navy said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday had directed his staff to begin drafting an order that would prohibit the flag "from all public spaces and work areas aboard Navy installations, ships, aircraft and submarines."