On June 28, 2015, an activist by the name of Bree Newsome did something unspeakable; she climbed up the flag pole of the South Carolina state house and removed the wretched Confederate Battle flag that has been swaying in the air since 1961. Many saw this as a social media act for attention, but what I saw was a woman who was desperately trying to get the attention of the ones that can make a difference for a situation that truly needed attention. Although many consider the Confederate Battle Flag to be a symbol of southern pride and heritage, it represents the entirety of southern history, much of which involved slavery and should be taken down; not only from the state capital, but anywhere this symbol of racism stands. The history of this flag has been tainted by slavery and groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which have misrepresented what it means and have created acts of not only violence, but racism and hatred as well. Also, the main purpose of the creating …show more content…
It signifies pride and heritage the exact same way that any state flag or national flag such as the Flag of the United States does. Just because white supremacist groups like the Klan have tainted this flag with acts of hatred and racism does not mean that its history lies within those lines. There have been many groups who have wanted to preserve this flag in a positive way like the Sons of Confederate Veterans do. They are a group who fight to preserve the pride and heritage of the Southern Nation. Many of these men are men of color who are taking this hallowed piece of tainted history and are trying desperately to make it whole again. So to blatantly attack this flag with its one dark segment of history and completely disregard the positive aspects of the South is completely absurd. The Confederate Battle flag should remain exactly where it is so that open-minded people can cherish it and feel free to express their heritage at any
...more overpowering and overwhelming than any general feeling of Southern pride. America has obtained a reputation to be an accepting and open minded country, welcoming all of any race, couture and religion. The Preamble states clearly that America will establish justice and insure domestic tranquility for all. Neither of these entities are accomplished in America as long as the Confederate flag remains raised. Our nation is furthermore divided by racism through a flag that is possibly being used as a degradation tool. This battle with racism has become far too large for American citizens and anything that is viewed as racist in such a manner as the Confederate flag is, should be censored from society, in only a helpful practice. A state flag should be capable of uniting its citizens, instead of dividing them. The Confederate flag should be lowered immediately.
Several corporations have been trying to campaign for the switch to the new flag. According to Douglas Blackmon, in the Wall Street Journal, former Netscape executive and native Mississippian Jim Barksdale contributed almost 30% of the money for the new flag effort. Mr. Barksdale’s concern for the state’s economic and racial problems motivated him to help campaign for the new flag (Blackmon A22). Barksdale fears for Mississippi’s economic future if the change is not made to the new proposed flag, states Blackmon (A22). Blackmon says Barksdale’s message was “that the state should furl the rebel flag not out of shame for its past but so that Mississippi’s economic development won’t be hamstrung by unfair connotations with groups such as the Ku Klux Klan” (A22). In other words, people around the nation view the original 1894 flag as Mississippi’s way of clinging to the past. Consequently, businesses would be less likely to invest and expand their corporations in the state. Potential jobs would be lost. In U.S. News & World Report, Michael Schaffer says, “Business and civil rights leaders had argued that ditching a flag associated with white supremacy would attract potential investors now hesitant to set up shop in a state that still symbolically hails the Confederacy” (30). With this in mind, possible economic opportunities could be lost as result of not changing the flag.
The Confederate flag is a famous symbol of the South’s side in the American Civil War. The controversy surrounding this flag has received a great bit of media attention considering how deeply affected and offended some people have become. Southerners consider themselves to be personally affected. A majority of supporters state that banning the Confederate flag strips them of their heritage, referring to the South’s part in the American Civil War. Persons who do not support the continued showing of the Confederate flag, such as non-Southerners, African Americans, and many others say that while the flag is a symbol of southern history, much of the history in the South includes racial segregations, lynchings, and slavery. As a matter of fact, the purpose of the Confederacy in the Civil War was to make sure slavery stayed an institution in America. The man who created the Confederate flag, William T. Thompson, stated this about the symbol of heritage: “As a people we are fighting to maintain the heavenly ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause” (Miessler par. 3). This alone clearly shows what the goal of the Confederacy
Throughout Tony Horwitz’s novel Confederates in the Attic an overarching theme of Southern Pride occurs. Tony gets first-hand experiences of what southern heritage means through a cross-country road trip visiting historic sights and meeting locals. Tony meets people from every walk of life and is open to their stories and historical information. He meets people who have been oppressed and the oppressors themselves. Many people show their pride through commemorating the past, in the south this often means commemorating the Civil War. Pride is coupled with the ways men and women choose to honor the Civil War, and the rift it has caused within racial tensions.
“The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture.” David Sarratt American Studies University of Virginia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014
One reason Confederate status should not be taken down is because the Civil War is apart of our country’s history. It is stated in “Monumental Battle” by Laura Anastaisa, “‘We never addressed the legacy of the Civil War or slavery, and what it means to the country now and what it meant then,”’ This presents the idea that the Civil War was not given enough credit. It ended slavery! Yes, there were still people back then that wanted to keep their slaves, however, they didn’t win, and ended up
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. To southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol for racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing. Although many would argue the original meaning behind the flag and that it is a symbol of historical culture that should not be forgotten, the flag should be banned due to its representation of racism and the seceding of the states.
The symbols of the Confederacy are not just about supremacy, but also, inextricably, about class. Confederate monuments and flag signify terrorism. They were raised deliberately to send a solid message to all who strolled in their shadows about who was still in control. The majority of African Americans whose descendants were enslaved. There have been many attempts to relocate monuments, remove flags, rename schools, and change the name of various holidays (“Confederate Remembrance 3”). Confederate monuments should be taken down immediately and placed in museums where citizens who support the monuments and the heritage of what happened a long time ago can view them
Regardless of the original reasons for the creation of the Confederate Monument, whether in memory of fallen soldiers or to advance a more sinister agenda, the fact that it was created, and continues to stand today despite so much controversy serves to illustrate the ever-changing attitude of the Nation. Instead of denying or concealing turbulent times in America’s history, a monument is built to remind the people of a time when lines were not so clear. A time when the Nation faced diversity head on, to overcome and surpass obstacles that may attempt to entangle the morality of the people. The Confederate Monument in Arlington National Cemetery is an everlasting testament to America’s commitment to not burying its past, but to accept it, to learn from it, to honor it.
Whether victors write history or not, facts are facts. In every battle there are sides taken. The Confederacy took the side of wanting to expand slavery to the western territories and wanting to be their own nation with their own rules at a time when America was building their country. To keep this flag up and continuously remind the citizens who have ancestral ties to slavery and crimes committed against their race or even their family of the wounds created at such a time is inhumane to say the least. The Confederate Battle Flag holds the same value as the Swastika in Europe because although their purposes behind the actions committed were different, the crimes were similarly as cruel. Yes, a flag can have many different meanings, but the acts created by people who have used this flag to establish a sense of superiority towards other races other than their own were cruel and unusual, which has destroyed any possibility of this flag ever having a peaceful, non-violent history. As I stated before, although The Battle Flag has a distinct personal meaning to each individual, its roots run deep. And many still remember this flag for what it stood for back then; a symbol of 13 states who wanted to exclude themselves from
The Confederate flag has been a prominent representation of Southern culture and heritage. Particularly, the significance of the Confederate flag in my home state of South Carolina is the symbolic representation of Southern states succeeding from the Union because of ideas by Abraham Lincoln that were not ideal to Southerners. The origin of the Confederate flag was during the Civil War when Confederate regiments could not distinguish the Union battle flag of stars and stripes apart from their own. Throughout the progression of the Civil War as southerners became known as Confederates, they began to distance themselves from symbols of the Union and sought a new symbol that represented their “confirmed independence”. The symbol later became the Confederate battle flag. As stated in the Confederate Battle Flag by John Coski, General John Bell Hood states, “To avoid dangerous confusion in action, each regiment will be required to bear the Confederate battle flag” (Coski 13). Confederate regiments were seeking for uniformity by adopting one battle flag to represent the Confederacy not only on the battlefield, but as a separate nation as well. Following the significant amount of blood shed from the Civil War, the Confederate flag did not shy away during Reconstruction. The flag ties in with southern culture because many southerners believe its representation is of their fallen ancestors who fought during the American Civil
(Costa-Roberts) Throughout the debate on banning the Confederate flag, the people still defending the Confederate flag are considered racist. The majority of the people flying the Confederate flag is not flying it for any form of racism. They are flying it because they are proud of their state's heritage. (Simon) Why would people be so protective of a flag? The flag has been in their life for so long. Imagine growing up watching The Dukes of Hazard with your family, or walking out the door every day on the way to school and seeing it flying on your front porch. “You grow fond of the image, it’s an attachment based on an affiliation with things they love. It’s easy to associate an image with feelings of happiness and therefore form a protective affinity for objects and symbols.”
The Confederate flag was a battle flag and it has many varied meanings of what it represents throughout history. People think that it represents racism and slavery, because it was flown in Southern states, which during the time Southern states promoted slavery in the Civil war. Today’s society would see the Confederate flag being flown in Texas as an act of racism not as Texas history and freedom of states. People would retaliate and try to take down the flag, if it were to be flown in Texas as they do not know the true meaning of the Confederate flag. The Confederate meaning is a group of states coming together that have gained independence and freedom. The Confederate flag should not be flown in Texas, while it has so much history in the
Even after that talk of the flag died down until now. Recent events have been bringing the Confederate flag back up into questioning. The main event that has recently taken place is the shooting that took place at a church in South Carolina. A white man went to a “black” church, he sat down with them the whole service. he sat in the back quietly and waited until the end. After the service ended he then fired his gun. Nine people died(Eversley). The same thing happened two years ago, except it was a little worse. A black man came into a “white” church. Just like the white man, he sat down, went through the service with the people and at the end fired and killed people. In that situation only four people died. After he killed the people at the church he kidnapped his wife and then killed her(Cowbell). There is not much difference between the two scenarios. The only story that made the news was The first story. An anonymous person quoted this after one of the shootings. “The only reason someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of pure hate.”(Eversley) That quote says it all. It said nothing about race or color or anything. But only the first story made the news because it was a white boy in a black church. After the story was on the news is when everyone said he did it to start a race war.
Imagine standing in front of the defaced statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee only to hear two sides of people curse, hurt each other. This situation is too familiar for people who visit Charlottesville, VA, the formerly peaceful town. The controversy between Confederate memorials never ends. Many people argue that Confederate monuments should be taken down because they become the flashpoints of unrest and violence. As far as I am concerned, confederate memorials should remain as these memorials are the legacy of history; history is value-neutral and innocent.