A few months ago when I was reordering checks from Brattleboro Savings and Loan, I looked through the possible options for a logo/symbol to put on them, and came across a confederate flag as one option. I contacted the bank to ask if there was a check company I could deal with that didn’t offer that as I did not want to support such a company.
My request was not received with the most understanding response, and I was quite concerned that my bank did not understand my concern. I let it slide, and tried to find a company on my own, but soon realized it would take me a long time to go through all the other companies and their choices, and gave up and went back to Harland-Clarke, through BS&L. Then, the horrible mass shooting/murders in South Carolina happened, and the nation focused on the issue of the flag. I decided I could not sit by any longer.
I contacted Dan Yates, president of BS&L, and we had a very civil back and forth over freedom of speech versus whether I wanted to do business with a company that had what I considered a racist item in its product line. Mr. Yates agreed to contact Harland-Clarke, and at this point, whether on their own or at least partially due to Mr. Yates contacting them I don’t know, they have decided to discontinue offering that symbol.
Throughout this email exchange, Mr. Yates has offered to meet with me, and to have an ongoing conversaton, and I want to publicly acknowledge his willingness to do so, and celebrate that one of our local businesses no longer will have the confederate flag symbol as an option for checks. Thank you, BS&L!
Nicely done
This is a great story for those who say “but there’s nothing I can do, I’m just one person.”
One person becomes two, then four, then more, and change is possible. It does take that initial spark of action, though. Congrats for speaking up.
Dan Yates, and the staff of BS&L do a really good job of being a part of the community. I’ve worked with Dan on some projects and have always been impressed by both his seriousness to the issues, but also his light-hearted approach to things. This isn’t necessarily a simple issue, but it sounds like it turned out well.