Heeding the counsel of African-American leaders, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) unanimously shot down a proposal to allow Confederate flags on vanity license plates, the Houston Chronicle reported on Thursday.

The president of the Texas NAACP, Gary Bledsoe, had appealed to the DMV board to reject the idea, saying that it would be hurtful to many people, and embarrassing to Texas.

“This is the wrong thing to do," Bledsoe said. "We don't want others to look at Texas with scorn and ridicule and think that we are a bunch of country bumpkins."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry had not publicly commented on the matter until he made his views clear during a trip to Florida two weeks ago. "That's just a part of history that you don't need to scrape that wound again," Perry said.

All nine members of the DMV board were appointed by Perry; none are African-American.

(Photo: AP Photo/Texas Department of Motor Vehicles)