Sunday-Wednesday Nov.5-Nov.8,2000.

Sponsored by the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO), Southern Center for Policy Studies at Clark Atlanta University and the Atlanta Daily World, "The Georgia State Flag: A Union with White Supremacy" will be held at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History Nov. 9, at 7 p. m. at 101 Auburn Avenue, N. E.

The forum will likely set the stage for politicians and community activists as they prepare to take on the challenge of removing the Confederate "stars and bars" battle emblem from the Georgia flag.

The Georgia Coalition to Change the Flag - a statewide collective of organizations, meets Saturday in Fitzgerald, Ga. State Democratic and Republican leaders have been invited to attend the meeting.

Legislation will be pre-filed following the November elections to change the flag, according to State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta).

"The Coalition, Legislative Black Caucus and GABEO have authorized me to introduce legislation in the General Assembly regarding the flag," he said. Brooks plans to attend the forum.

The bill will contain three provisions: retire the current flag, restore the pre- 1956 flag and include a statement that Confederate memorials, monuments and museums will not be altered.

Asa R. Gordon, founder/executive director of the Douglass Institute of Government, cautioned against making a compromise bill as the legislators did in South Carolina.

Gordon, who will keynote the Auburn Avenue Library forum, said he advises the state's Black legislators to carefully word any legislation to remove the flag -- to ensure the law's passage.

"(Legislators) must be careful not to make a compromise similar to that of South Carolina legislators," Gordon said.

The South Carolina legislature made a 'deal with the devil' according to Gordon, who said the bill contains a provision prohibiting future efforts to correct any existing monument some may deem offensive.

"Under the guise of a compromise, South Carolinian legislators codified the preservation of all other Confederate memorials throughout the entire state for all time," he said. "This in exchange for the symbolic removal of one Confederate battle flag from the statehouse.

"Georgia's Black legislators can avoid this by making sure their legislation specifically addresses the removal of the flag only," he continued.

Black voters can also make their voices heard through their elected officials. "Voters should make it clear they will not accept a compromise that ultimately preserves Confederate memorials," he said.

"One can only look at how Gov. George W.Bush and Sen. John McCain reacted when asked about the South Carolina flag during the primaries," he said.

In May, the South Carolina legislature voted to remove the Confederate flag from atop the Capitol dome and both legislative chambers.

The flag was moved to a Confederate soldiers' memorial on Capitol grounds July 1. The NAACP, unsatisfied with the compromise, continues its economic boycott of the state

Gov. Roy Barnes encouraged dialogue on the flag but insists the issue must be decided strictly by lawmakers.

"Changing the state flag is a matter that must be decided by the General Assembly," he said. "I have met with several leaders of the (Georgia) Black Caucus, and they know that they do not yet have the votes (to remove the flag).

Gordon disagrees with Barnes' decision to remain silent on the issue.

"He could issue an executive order stating Georgia will not allow a flag to be flown that is a symbol of division," he said. "The Georgia Supreme Court could decide the issue."

The Washington, D.C.-based institute is an educational "think tank" dedicated to research and policy studies.