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the removal of confederate monuments essay
the removal of confederate monuments essay
essay about the confederate flag
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There is nothing wrong with showing support to your homage, but we need to be respectful about it. It is perfectly stated when a man named Kirk Mayes, who has spoken out against the claims made by haters of the flag says, “The Confederate flag symbolizes racial oppression, but also pride in the South for many Southerners. It really is a symbol of the past. Today, it 's about moving forward. We have to kind of be open to the spirit of forgiving. Not embracing its symbolism of hatred, but recognizing its relevance,” said Mayes. You have to be respectful of both sides of the Flag no matter how you view it. To me, after doing all my research into the topic and the re purposed image of the Flag, I feel as if the “White Privilege” flag doesn’t truly
There is a huge difference between people who look at the flag as a symbol of history compared to the hate groups who use the symbol of the flag as a racist sign. The Confederate flag can be seen in the background of many Klu Klux Klan meetings and still to this day the Klan can be seen flying the flag high with pride. These extremists openly express the conception that whites are supreme and degrade other ethnicities as something below themselves. “According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 500 extremist groups use the Southern Cross as one of their symbols”
The symbol I am talking about is the Confederate Monuments that are filled throughout the south. They can be seen on lawns of court offices, government buildings, and even center city in some places down south. These monuments reflect back to the Civil war and show remembrance for the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the Confederacy. “The United Daughters of the Confederacy once described those marble, bronze, and stone makers as memorials to devotion, the heroism, the brilliancy, and the resourcefulness of the confederate army”(Martinez 1). Obviously, we see the problem with these markers is that after 130 years after the war, we still are worshiping soldiers who were potentially fighting to keep slavery and sustain the Old ways of the south. People may find the symbols very offensive, and start to ask questions and stir drama when they see some partakers of the south still Idolizing rebels who were technically outlaws of America who didn’t want to conform to the
I believe people lack respect for the flag and what it stands for. Although most people are proud to be an American, some don’t understand what it truly means to be an American. The flag has a history, and should be respected because of that history. Although most believe that respect should be earned, our flag has earned this many times over. And I believe that our flag is taken for granted.
...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.
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
“The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture.” David Sarratt American Studies University of Virginia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014
I believe people should not be able to take down the Confederate statues.We shouldn't be able to take them down because, it’s apart of our country's history, people lost their lives fighting for what they believe and we don’t want to ignore the fact that our country has flaws and we need to own up to it.
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
Since the beginning in the United States, African Americans have been seen as racially inferior and White Americans have been trying to keep them that way for many years, especially in the south. This can be seen when the south implemented the Jim Crow Laws in the 1930’s to the 1940’s. These laws were laws put into place in the south to refute African Americans 14th and 15th rights; to keep African Americans racially inferior. However these laws were fought very hard by African Americans even though they were being put down they still found a way to rise up and change America by fighting back for what they believed was right and not giving up. Many African Americans had their own thoughts on how to do this, such as Martin Luther King, Jr.,
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
In conclusion, people should not take down confederate memorials as they are part of the history. They remind us of the cost of freedom and equality; they force us to remember the ignominious truth of the past; they serve as a mighty tool to educate the racists. We need them to avoid recommitting the same
Why be suppressed by a symbol deemed against African Americans when identity is purely subjective? Barkley was tired of having to constantly be reminded of a horrible time, so he took the symbol as his own and changed the meaning. He referred to the flag as representing black-power, which was the complete opposite of what society thought. This created a huge statement and made people stop and think about what an African American man was doing flaunting a confederate flag.