Hreha's column quickly made it into the Internet's viral social-media stream, shared by anti-flag activists and irate Kid Rock fans alike, and the star's Confederate flag history was abruptly back on the radar. Hreha, who declined to comment for this Free Press story, wrote that the musician is Michigan's "most visible proponent" of the flag and questioned Chevrolet's sponsorship of Rock's tour. The current spotlight on Rock likely sprung from a June 29 op-ed guest column in the Oakland Press by Ken Hreha, a Dryden resident and flag opponent who has long pressed media outlets to provide more balanced coverage of the musician's relationship with the flag. "My biggest frustration is that (the protesters) are using Kid Rock's name and Chevy's name to get attention for themselves based on something he wasn't even doing - and that they didn't even know that," Stern said.īut the Kid Rock focus may also reflect the distinctive nature of media and information in the evolving digital age. The accused gunman, Dylann Roof, had posted online photos of himself with the Confederate battle flag, reigniting a larger debate about the flag's meaning and prompting its removal from the South Carolina state capitol. The NAN protests prompted a frenzy of national media attention on Rock and the flag, in the wake of the June 17 shooting of nine black people at a Charleston, S.C., church. A press release announcing the demonstration described Kid Rock as someone "who proudly displays the flag in his concerts" and called on him to "stop using (the) Confederate flag in his shows." Still, that reality wasn't necessarily understood last week as protesters with the Detroit chapter of Al Sharpton's National Action Network began demonstrating against Kid Rock at the Detroit Historical Museum, which houses a Rock-funded music exhibit. While his publicist offered few details Wednesday about Rock's thinking the night of the NAACP event, the ceremony clearly was a turning point for the musician. Inside, Rock told the crowd he "never flew the flag with hate in my heart," saying, "I love America, I love Detroit, and I love black people." Outside the NAACP ceremony, about 40 protesters blasted Rock and the NAACP while burning a Confederate flag.
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