ST. JAMES, N.C. (WECT) – The residents of St. James Plantation in Brunswick County are expected to abide by the rules of the Property Owner’s Association (POA), which controls things like house colors, noise ordinances, and even what flags people are allowed to display in front of their home. That last item is exactly what has some residents pushing back against the neighborhood and what flags they deem appropriate, and the definition of a ‘political flag.’
Bill Bunting, who lives in St. James Plantation, says he is a supporter of the social movement Black Lives Matter, and wanted to show that support with a flag on his porch. After raising the flag, he received a notice from the POA stating his flag violated the neighborhood’s ordinances, and it had to be removed because it was ‘political.’
It’s a claim Bunting disputes.
“In late February, I think it was Feb. 24, my house flag on the side of my house, which states a number of things that my family believes in — science is real, women’s rights are human rights, no human is illegal, but in particular, black lives matter,” Bunting said.
This isn’t the first time a resident has been cited by the neighborhood for supporting Black Lives Matter. Last year, another resident spoke with WECT about her experience with neighbors after flying several flags that the POA deemed political.
But Bunting called the restrictions on Black Lives Matter flags discrimination, and says the POA is quick to target supporters of the cause, but allows others in the neighborhood to fly flags with opposing views.
“I’d call it discrimination. You know, I’d call it any number of things. But you know, it raises a curiosity flag, pun intended on my part, when they’ll make you take down a Black Lives Matter flag, that is a social movement, not a political movement, and let other individuals fly, say a blue line flag or a Q-anon flag, or let’s go Brandon flag. The list goes on — a confederate flag,” he said.
However, when he raised this point to the POA Manager, John Thompson, he was told Bunting they enforces the rules across the board.
“We have enforced the ‘political sign’ rule several times in the past few months and for a wide range of the political spectrum, from ‘Lets Go Brandon’ and various Trump flags, to ‘White Supremacists are Terrorists.’” Thompson said.
The question remains — is simply stating Black Lives Matter a political issue?
The federal government says no.
A ruling from the U.S. Special Counsel has decided the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ is not political in and of itself, although there are political organizations that do use the phrase
“BLM is a ‘hot-button’ issue and both politically and culturally salient. But BLM terminology is issue-based, not a campaign slogan. Therefore, using BLM terminology, without more, is not political activity. BLMGN does not meet any of the criteria for classification as a partisan political group. Therefore, BLMGN is not a partisan political group,” according to a report by the U.S. Special Counsel in July of 2020.
While the U.S. Constitution does protect your right to free speech and the right to express yourself, homeowners associations and property owners associations do have the right to limit that speech.
Bradley Coxe, an attorney in Wilmington, deals with property disputes and other real estate matters including working with HOAs. He weighed in on the rights of POAs when it comes to equal enforcement last year.
“They do have a fiduciary duty and a good faith duty to apply those laws, regulations, equally against everybody,” Coxe said.
And if they don’t, Coxe says that they open themselves up to civil action from property owners.
“There’s no entity and a lot of people think there is, there’s no entity with the state or the county to go in there and tell the HOA you can’t do that, that has to be a private lawsuit from an individual who owns that or a group of homeowners,” he concluded.
An appeal that went unheard
Bunting was given his chance to appeal the decision to the community’s Rules and Enforcement Committee, however, things did not go as he planned on Monday.
Bunting has done plenty of research into state laws, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the St. James POA rules. He crafted a presentation that he was hoping to show during his appeal and invited WECT as well as the President of the NAACP for Brunswick County, Carl Parker.
However, when it was time for his appeal hearing, Bunting was told nobody but himself would be allowed in the hearing.
Protesting the exclusion of his guests, Bunting told POA staff he wanted to have his hearing in the lobby of Town Hall so everyone could see the presentation, and hear the decision by the committee.
That request was denied.
Instead, POA staff called security who tried to explain to Bunting he would be the only one allowed in the room, and that it would not take long since the grievance against him was being dismissed.
When he asked why it was being dismissed, a member of security for the POA said he believed it was due to Bunting covering the text Black Lives Matter.
“From what I understand, my charges were dismissed because I put a piece of black tape over Black Lives Matter on my flag.” Bunting said.
When Bunting continued to push for a chance to give his presentation in public, deputies from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office were called.
It was not exactly clear why law enforcement was called, but Bunting did argue with POA staff and, at one point, exchanged heated words with a neighbor who was also in the building, but for the most part, the scene was relatively calm.
Deputies talked with Bunting as well as Parker and the situation did not escalate to the point of requiring any police intervention or resulting in any criminal charges — or even allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
Bunting’s arguments
Bunting makes several points in his presentation and emails to the POA staff and Board Members, alleging the POA allows flags that show different points of view, he says are typically associated with right-wing politics, including Blue Lives Matter and Gadsden flags, but prohibits any ideologies that might be considered left-wing or liberal.
“There are over 33 Thin Blue Line flags on display in SJP and at least five Don’t Tread on Me flags. But I am going to guess that none of these residents have received any type of violation,” Bunting wrote in his presentation.
The POA did not clarify why Blue Lives Matter flags are not considered political while ruling Black Lives Matter are. Blue Lives Matter has been a talking point and often evoked phrase for candidates and politicians across the country.
In 2016, a bill was presented to Congress titled, ‘Blue Lives Matter Act of 2016.”
So what does the language of the POA’s rules actually say?
“Signs that represent, promote, oppose, or otherwise references or relates to any political party, political cause, issue, or idea shall not be displayed at any time unless covered in para 1.9.2 below…” President of the SJP POA Jerry Iverson said in an email.
Iverson did not respond to the question as to why flags saying Blue Lives Matter would not be considered political.
As for the Gadsden Flag, it’s a yellow flag with a snake on it and the text reading ‘Don’t Tread on Me.’
It was originally created during the Revolutionary War and flown by the Continental Marines, but has become commonly seen at conservative rallies, and was seen during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Despite not being allowed in the meeting or a chance to speak, Parker, the NAACP representative invited to the hearing, disagreed with the claim that Black Lives Matter is a political ideology in an interview.
“I don’t understand that. That political part of black lives matter. Black lives, do matter. Not only black lives, all lives matter. But I think it’s a statement that shows that if folks believe that, and believe that we have come out of slavery for both sides, not only blacks were enslaved, whites were enslaved as well,” he said.
As for what the future holds, Bunting has filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for what he says are violations of the Fair Housing Act for discrimination.
Deputies and POA staff said the rules committee was not the right place to ask for changes to the community rules, instead, suggesting Bunting take it to the POA Board of Directors at their next meeting.
Bunting says he does not believe doing that will have any effect.
A change of policy
Previously the POA has ruled in favor of Black Lives Matter flags, saying in one decision a homeowner appealed, that it was not a political and could remain.
“Following review of your presentation, the Board has determined that the banner is a slogan representing a social movement. As such, it does not violate the POA Rules and Policies,” a letter dated July 28, 2020 and signed by the community manager Dan Davis read.
This letter was acknowledged in an email by Iverson, but he goes on to say that the policy has since changed.
“In July 2022, under the older definition of political signage, the BLM pennant was allowed since it was not in violation of the policy in effect at that time. With the change in our policy, the BLM sign is not allowed,” Iverson wrote in an email to Bunting.
In another email, the POA says it believes the movement has turned political.
“The POA Board recognizes that ‘Black Lives Matter’ has turned into a political organization,” Community Manager John Thompson wrote in an email.
In 2021, the POA amended the bylaws to be more specific in terms of what is and what is not allowed in SJP.
Iverson declined an on-camera interview, but he did respond with a statement via email.
It read:
“Our Restrictive Covenants prohibit the display of billboards, posters or signs of any kind on a homeowner’s lot.
“The POA Rules and Policies defines signs as signs, flags, banners, and pennants. The policy prohibits signs that represent, promote, oppose, or otherwise references or relates to any political party, political cause, issue, or idea.
“A primary function of the POA Board and Staff is to enforce the covenants, association rules, and other governing documents. The Board takes this responsibility seriously and enforces covenants, community standards, rules, and policies in a fair and equitable manner.”
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