ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — The prospect of a Confederate battle flag flying in a holiday parade in Roanoke has prompted civil rights officials to call on the city to ban the Civil War symbol of the South.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are scheduled to march Friday in The Roanoke Times Dickens of a Christmas parade.

At a news conference Saturday, the president of the city chapter of the NAACP called on city officials to banish the flag from the parade route, according to the Times (9http://bit.ly/1INuw4f).

Brenda Hale calls the flag a remnant of slavery, lynching and the violent oppression of African-Americans.

A Roanoke City Council member, Sherman Lea, agreed that the flag is a divisive symbol, but he said the council believes the city cannot legally ban the flag from the parade.

___

Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com