Rapper uses flag and noose to protest Confederate month

JACKSON, MS -- A rapper draped herself in a Confederate battle flag and hung a noose around her neck during a performance to protest Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's declaration of April as Confederate Heritage Month.

Genesis Be grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi, and she says her performance was April 26 in New York.

The 27-year-old Be, who is African-American, says Thursday that Bryant's declaration was "slap in the face not only to my ancestors but everyone's ancestors who fought against the Confederacy."

The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

When Bryant issued the Confederate Heritage Month declaration, his spokesman Clay Chandler said the governor believes Mississippi's history deserves to be studied, "no matter how unpleasant or complicated parts of it may be."