The Grammy-nominated artist Kid Rock received the Great Expectations Award from the civil rights organisation, NAACP in Detroit on Sunday. However, critics say that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has insulted black Americans by honouring someone who has used the Confederate flag on stage and in photo shoots.
In his defence, Rock told nearly 10,000 people attending the 56th annual Fight for Freedom fund-raising dinner that the flag-flying had nothing to do with racism.
"I love America," he said. "I love Detroit and I love black people. I never flew that flag with any hate in my heart."
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, went on to explain how his use of the flag was merely a southern rock tribute to the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Addressing a packed house, Reverend Wendell Anthony, the president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, introduced Rock by citing lyrics from his songs and saying he "stands up for Detroit, speaks out for Detroit and is not afraid to tell people he's from Detroit."
Earlier, more than 40 people had picketed outside Detroit's Cobo Centre to protest against Rock's award, burning a replica of the flag first carried by southern troops in the American Civil War.
"It stands for hatred, bigotry, racism, murder," the demonstration leader and Detroit-based political consultant Adolph Mongo said. "Every bigot and racist in this country loves that flag. We should be speaking out against racism and bigotry instead of honouring it."
