"Black members of Virginia's House of Delegates are protesting the chamber's decision to begin each day's session by reciting a 30-word salute to the Virginia flag, a tribute they say is an unwelcome reminder of the massive resistance to desegregation in the South.

Members of the black caucus, who last week voted unanimously with the rest of the House to recite the salute, now say they were unaware of its history: It was written by a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and adopted by the General Assembly as the state's official flag salute in 1954 -- the year a U.S. Supreme Court decision ordered public schools to desegregate.

'When you salute the flag, it's an affirmation,' said Del. Dwight Clinton Jones (D-Richmond). 'I don't want to affirm a time when Virginia was exclusive and not inclusive. I feel like I'm affirming the past and the mood of the state at the time.'

The dispute over the salute is not the only reminder of Virginia's historic struggles with racial issues.

Former lieutenant governor John H. Hager (R), the new assistant to the governor for emergency preparedness, today canceled the keynote speech he was scheduled to deliver Friday at an event honoring Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. His decision to withdraw came after criticism of Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) from black legislators and others who said he was undermining his inaugural message of unity by allowing Hager to deliver the speech.

Former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder (D), the nation's first elected black governor, said the disputes over Hager's speech and the salute reflected poorly on the state's political leadership.

'It's sending a message that really doesn't describe Virginia -- that's the problem with it,' Wilder said.

The state's leaders have struggled for years to maintain racial harmony, clashing on the wording of the state song, the image of the Confederate flag on license plates, the creation of a memorial to black tennis great Arthur Ashe and celebration of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Two years ago, the legislature agreed to separate the holiday honoring Lee and Jackson from that honoring King.

Lawmaking in Virginia 'takes place in a city that has battled regularly over these symbols,' said Robert D. Holsworth, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. 'They are typically related to the deeper values that people hold and talk about.'

Maryland, too, struggles with its past. Last year, lawmakers fought unsuccessfully to abolish the state's Confederate-leaning state song. This year, there will be an effort to replace the lyrics with words praising the state's natural beauty.

In Virginia, the state's flag has once again forced the 100 members of the House of Delegates to confront the race issue.

The history of the Virginia flag dates to revolutionary times, when the Great Seal of the Commonwealth was adopted a day after the Declaration of Independence was issued. That seal, which depicts a Roman goddess with one foot on the image of Tyranny, was placed on a deep blue background and became the Virginia state flag in 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War.

Del. Lionell Spruill Sr. (D-Chesapeake) is one of several members who has stopped reciting the salute when the House convenes at noon. This week, he stood silently, his lips clamped shut, as his colleagues covered their hearts with their hands and read the salute.

'Don't keep bringing this stuff from the past,' Spruill said. 'Last time was the Confederate flag on the license plates. Don't keep rubbing it in. If you let this slide by, it will be something else.'

But other delegates said it is the black lawmakers who are refusing to let the past be the past.

Del. Robert F. McDonnell (R-Virginia Beach), who introduced the salute last week, said he regards it as a 'wholesome and healthy and patriotic' message. He said the intent was not to be divisive, and urged members to take the salute's words at face value.

'We don't inquire about the values and the feelings and the backgrounds of a patron of a bill,' he said. 'We look at what the legislation says. Where does that stop? Will we have to distance ourselves from the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence because they were written by slave-owners?'

Del. John A. 'Jack' Rollison III (R-Prince William) characterized the concerns of his black colleagues as 'much ado about nothing.' Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) said legislators should focus their efforts on balancing the budget.

'This capitol is in Richmond. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. What are we going to do, move the capitol out of Richmond?' he asked. 'There comes a point when you scratch your head and wonder when we are going to move on to other business.'

This evening, members of the black caucus were debating whether to challenge the salute. House Speaker S. Vance Wilkins Jr. (R-Amherst) said he expects his colleagues to resolve the issue soon.

'I don't have any idea how we will work it out,' Wilkins said after meeting with the black caucus Tuesday night. 'But there's goodwill on both sides.' " (Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post, January 17, 2002)