Country artist Jonathan Byrd weighs in with an epic rant on Facebook:

It’s time to disturb the peace again. Here’s a more recent declaration:

“Take down the flag. Take it down now.

Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. Move forward. Abandon this charlatanism. Drive out this cult of death and chains. Save your lovely souls. Move forward. Do it now.” - Ta-Nahisi Coates

It doesn’t threaten your heritage. You take off your hat for a lady. You clean the shit off your boots before you walk into a church. It’s just a matter of respect. Admit that your perspective might feel right and be wrong. Take it down, South Carolina. Just for today. A few days if you can stand it. Then put it back up if you must. I know how it is. I feel the pressure not to say anything, not to get involved. Who am I? I’m just a singer with no Grammies or gold records. I should be happy with what I have and not roil the waters.

I may reach ten thousand people with this post. Maybe thirty thousand.

And there just may be one of my fans who is outraged, one guy who can’t humble himself enough to hear anyone else’s truth without getting red in the face and typing his opinion against me. One guy who will never come to another Jonathan Byrd show. Or maybe there are five. Or ten.

But you know what? Fuck that guy. Fuck all those guys. Let them hang their rebel flags from their prefab sheds where they hide their liquor and their porn from their wives. We don’t owe them anything. We don’t owe the past anything. We owe the future everything. Take it down.

I know you won’t. But I hope I’m wrong just like I didn’t think we’d ever elect a black president. Step into the future. Take it down.

For a country artist, this is taking a major stand. Good for him. Go read it all, it’s wonderful.