Defining The Divisions At One Time, Our Nation Is Divided By Race And Social Class

On January 1992 the NAACP put in affect a boycott on South Carolina to pressure the state to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The boycott is what initially brought life to this issue. The NAACP’s removal request is based on the fact that they, the anti-flag groups, claim that the meaning of the Confederate flag is one of hate and discrimination. On the other hand, there are other groups that believe differently whom are called the pro-flag groups. They claim that the Confederate flag is a sign of heritage and should stay on South Carolina’s Statehouse. Anti-flag articles are more likely to be found published in well-known Liberal magazines, when credible pro-flag articles were hard

“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.

Since around the creation of the Republican party and the Democratic Party, politicians and other Americans have divided our states into red and blue states. During the Presidential Election, you could tell who had the most electoral votes due to the color of the state and how many due to the numbers at the top of the state. President Obama, who became a vision of hope for those needing a change in the establishment, said this,”“The pundits like to slice and dice our country into … red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats,” he said. “But I’ve got news for them … We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little

“‘A great nation does not hide its history, it faces its flaws and corrects them.”’ George W. Bush spoke these words at the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Nelson). He said this in hopes of keeping monuments reflecting slavery and segregation standing so people today could learn from mistakes in the past. Most monuments dealing with the topic of slavery are Confederate monuments, but they are causing controversy over their true meaning. Some people believe Confederate monuments are about southern pride, but many think they are symbols of racism (Ingraham). The debate over these monuments has caused violent protests like in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a Robert E. Lee statue was removed. Although Confederate monuments anger many people because of the history behind them, they provide lessons that can be taught to help end racism and make a better country. Confederate monuments and statues need to stay to preserve the history of the United States so it is not repeated, but the meaning to them should be altered to show segregation is immoral.

In 1870, our country was openly very divided on the topic of slavery. As we learn about in our history books, this division of hearts and minds lasted centuries before being “corrected” through the actions of the civil rights movement of 1954-1968. The aforementioned triple header of amendments laid the groundwork for change, but the process of changing the views of the American people took decades and is still occurring. We have all seen in recent news stories how our beloved media likes to spin things one way or another during every newsworthy event involving people of different races, thus leaving the

In the past couple of year, there has been a controversial battle over the flying of the Confederate Flag on government buildings. The controversy has really started to stir up in the southern states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. On January 30, 2001, the state of Georgia changed its flag, removing the large Confederate battle cross from the 1956 design and replacing it with the state seal of Georgia. Now, the state of Mississippi is the only state that fearlessly displays the Southern Cross in its state flag. Though several Southerners see the Confederate Flag as a symbol of southern pride and heritage, many others see the flag as a dishonorable reminder of slavery and segregation in the south. Although this flag is under great controversy in the southern states, there is no reason why this flag should not be flown from government buildings because it isn’t demoralizing African Americans in the symbolization of slavery, segregation and domination although it is used by many hate groups across the united states they too need a history lesson because the confederate flag only started as a battle flag that some blacks fought under and held with pride.

In my paper I will be discussing the Confederate Flag and its controversy in history and in todays views. The Confederate flag has been a negative symbol in American society since the 1800’s. It has been only recently that the Confederate flag has been brought back to life as a contemporary issue. In recent times the flag has been used as a motivation for racial strikes and other rebellious acts bring the issues of the flag and the controversy behind it back to life. The major questions I seek to answer in this essay it why the controversy of the Confederate flag only been brought back up recently and why the confederate flag was created the way it was. And the overall motivation behind its creation. The Confederate flag has only recently been brought back as an issue because of the recent racial attacks and an overall rebellious acts that swear under the confederate flag, back in the early 1860’s the confederate flag was first used to represent the southern states because the south was wanting to secede from the northern states. Because of the major shooting in Charleston controversy behind the confederate flag sparked back up. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon and stopping the sale of the Confederate flag because of its growing symbol of racism. The Confederate flag has shifted from being viewed as the southern states to viewed as a symbol of racism. what does the future hold for the confederate flag and will it become a rare item?

Dabney is an African-American and European descent whose parents went to a segregated school in Virginia. His great-grandmother of three generations before him were free blacks before the Civil War, but during the war lived in fear that they would be kidnapped and forced to submit to slavery, thus living in constant fear. His grandfather of three generations before him was a white slave owner. This side of the family is where Dabney has a connection with past family members that were Confederate soldiers and members of the Virginia 1861 Secession Convention. His belief is that the Confederate flag represents the men who died at such battles like Manassas, Shiloh, and Gettysburg. He believes that the flag has been a representation of white supremacists groups in America but to deny the historical value of the Confederate flag would just be as wrong as the white supremacists. Dabney’s belief is that people cannot ignore prejudice or the symbol of prejudice by the flag, but that removing the flag from public display will not stop the white supremacists, or the prejudice that they adhere to. He believes that removing the flags would not stop the country from jailing more minorities than whites, and that this country needs to serve its people by resolving these problems with real congressional help and by cultural change and education and not by arguing over a piece of fabric.

In Spite of the devastating history of segregation in the United States. A lot has changed in the past fifty years since segregation ended. The United States shifted from arresting African Americans for using “white only” facilities to integrated schools all over the country. Influential individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr helped pave the way for African Americans to live as equals to along with their white counterparts in the United States of America.

Fred Barbash, wrote “Does first flag symbolize "exclusion and hate," as some say?,” published in 2016 by the Washington Post, and argues that the first American flag could stand for racism and bigotry. Barbash, uses logos, pathos, and ethos to inscribe the racial tension growing around the first American flag controversy. Barbash uses rhetorical devices to really clasp the audience and to attract a variety of people.

The Civil War continues to be a major talking point today -- a war that was fought over the extension of slavery. In 2017, a contentious conversation continues as the public debates the reasons of the Civil War, whether or not it was about slavery or states’ rights, and the ethics behind having massive monuments commemorating a time of our history that was so divisive. Symbols of the Confederacy, which includes the Confederate flag and monuments depicting leaders of the Confederacy, are seen to be racist and propaganda tools used by white supremacists. However, there are those who believe that these confederate symbols are misleading and leads to the false ideas that the South was patriotic and heroic during the Civil War. Through

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were historical milestones in which the ever controversial topic of racial equality was first challenged. In theory, these two movements laid the groundwork for a racially equal United States of America. A country in which every member, regardless of skin color, or race were to be treated equally under the eyes of the law and to one day be treated as equals within all realms of society. As historic and powerful as these movements were, they did

The American South. An area full of rich history and the home to some of the nation’s largest conflicts throughout history, such as the civil war and the civil rights movement. Southerners have always been proud of their heritage despite its rocky parts and display it for all to see with a 150 year old flag. This is proving to be problematic, though, as the Confederate flag they are all so proud of, is really only 50 years old and has been associated with ideals of white supremacy and racism. Some Southerners and other Americans choose to not believe the truth about the flag, others were never taught the truth. However, it is incredibly important in forming an opinion on the flag, and to whether or not the flag must be removed from state buildings. And the truth is, due to its historical affiliation to racist whites in the South, white supremacy groups, and recent events such as the Charleston Shooting, the Confederate rebel flag should not be flown on state buildings as it is not culturally sensitive to African American people who have been targeted by these people.

Recently I had sit and listen to my sister’s new boyfriend rant about race and the confederate flag during a family lunch. “Black people are too sensitive,” he raved, ignoring my attempts at interjecting, “Mike Brown was shot because he was a thug; he stole cigars and attacked the officer. Black people try and make it about race, even when it's not. We’re all equal. All this talk about the confederate flag- the Civil War wasn’t about slavery. Besides, some slave masters gave their slaves an education.”

Other factors that divide United States citizens include LGBTQ issues, views of centralized government, immigration, and gender issues. Americans are divided so politically due to their personal stances on issues. Class, race, and gender definitely plays a role in the division. People side with politicians who reflect their personal views and can implement policies that help them.