Introduction Jesse is a thirteen-year-old male from Vermont. Some of his hobbies include; 4-wheeling, mudding, and hanging out with his small group of friends. Jesse and his friends like to pack around confederate flags. They exclaim that this is not a symbol of racism, rather than to identify themselves’ s as a redneck. Jesse’s home life consists of living on a farm with his mother. At the age of 3, jesses father left him and his mother and never came back. Although Jesse’s father not in the picture, he does see him around town often. Even though his father notices him, he usually turns the other way and pretends he doesn’t see him. Jesse’s mother tries to be carrying and supportive but she says jesses still has a difficult time because
Contrarily, “Big Jesse, Little Jesse” is a story about a young, separated couple and their child. The mother raises her son to be like her, but Jesse (the father) wants his son
As someone that has grown up in the south in on a family farm and living the country boy life he also explained his opinion on the confederate flag controversy and what it has meant to him.
The visual representation in “The Union as it Was” cartoon depicts a member of the KKK and a member of the White Supremacy League joining hands over a banner. This banner shows the many dangers African Americans face, including a lynched man, a burned schoolhouse, and an African American family holding their dead child (Document I). These images symbolize the extreme violence and discrimination faced by African Americans during Reconstruction and illustrate the obstacles that prevented African Americans from receiving social equality. This ultimately reinforces the failure of Reconstruction to deliver on its
The Confederate Flag has been around since the nineteenth century. It was used by the Confederate Army to show that they unite under a different union, and not the one that will bind our nation as a whole. In the articles: “Executive Order Banning Confederate Flags, Memorabilia,” “Ban Backlash: Confederate Flag Backers Ready to Battle,” and “Everybody Has Suddenly Noticed Confederate Flag is Widely Available.” it is illustrated that the ideas about how the Confederate Flag are being used today as a racial integration; declaring that the discontinuance of the Confederate Flag is completely ethical and is a priority to ensure the end of riots.
The high school, which is nicknamed the Rebels, refuses to take down the multiple Confederate flags that adorn their school’s campus (Holley). This comes during a time when many other schools are taking the flag down or covering it up (Holley 2015). The Confederate flag has sparked a great deal of controversy and many see it as a symbol of racism, but the people of Hurley do not see it that way (Holley 2015). The school’s decision is supported by its one black student Chris Spencer, who has the flag tattooed on his forearm (Holley). People of the community often point to Spencer when outsiders ask how they cannot see it as a racist symbol (Holley 2015). The town, including Spencer, see the flag as a symbol for their school and football team and believe that there is nothing racist about it (Holley
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.
On June 7th, 2015 nine African Americans were tragically killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, that following morning, 21-year-old Dylan Roof confessed to the murder while in police custody. Days later, evidence of Roof’s racism and hatred toward blacks emerged, including several pictures of him holding the confederate flag. This sparked a national debate on whether the flag should be banned, and if it was appropriate to have it hung on government buildings.
Hughes uses powerful imagery as he describes the most ostracized groups in American society from which this voice derives: the poor white man “fooled and pushed apart”, the black man “bearing slavery’s scars”, the red man “driven from his land”, and the immigrant “clutching” onto hope. He uses stirring metaphors, “slavery’s scars”, to relay the image of suffering experienced by these forgotten
Students at Castleton University, a liberal arts college in Vermont, have begun to voice their concerns over the use of the Confederate flag on campus. Currently, the university does not have a policy on the flag and some students feel that there should be one implemented. The article references the flag being prevalent on campus as a material creation; seen in windows, laptops, and bumper stickers. The displaying of the flag is a behavior. Some students find the flag offensive and inappropriate; while others believe that the flag is an expression of constitutional rights and is a historical symbol.
During a 2001 statewide referendum, Mississippi voters where asked whether they supported the continuance of the 1894 flag or a new design. More than sixty percent of voters approved the continuation of the 1894 version, and today, Mississippi’s flag represents the last official state flag in the United States containing the Confederate Battle Flag (Rolph, 2018). Over the past few years the Mississippi state flag has been a main source in the debate of racism, whether it is on school campuses, in the media, or in the Mississippi State Capital. The state flag of Mississippi should be viewed as a historical landmark, rather than a symbol of racism.
The Confederate flag remains to be a hot topic that is drawing a lot of controversy in the state of Mississippi. Some individuals feel that the flag has a right to be flown all over the state; while, others can see it removed completely. The purpose of this paper is to discuss in detail four important topics as follows: (1) the history of the Confederate flag, (2) the economic impact, (3) state agencies and municipalities’ stance and (4) the Legislative position concerning the issue. The flag originated as a banner, but in today’s society is recognized as a symbol. The symbol of the flag represents the Confederate war. Because of strong emotional ties Confederate ancestors have a particular perception of the flag. However, everyone does not share the same opinion, some perceptions are different and often conflicts with what others understand the flag to mean (Coski, 2015).
Is America more racist now than it was 60 years ago? Of course not, yet America is more polarized than it’s ever been. Even on issues that are mere trifles, Americans cannot seem to agree upon anything. One of these seemingly pointless issues is whether the rectangular Second Confederate Navy Jack and the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia, or as many people call the “confederate flag”, should be banned. It is difficult to discern what exactly set off this movement, the fact of the matter is that the confederate flag has been used for years with no apparent backlash, but has become an issue of controversy. This debate has raised legitimate concern especially in regards to its use amongst federal institutions such as South Carolina flying it over the State House. However, this movement has pushed its way past that into the personal realm. Many have come to the belief that it must be banned on all accounts. Certainly, believing in something enough to fight for it is admirable— something that truly defines what the USA stands for; however, when emotion is used to wrongfully conclude, and in this case, ban a flag without true factual evidence, there becomes a problem. The basis of this argument is that the flag inherently represents racism due to the Southern United States’ history of slavery. This thesis, although noble in motive, neglects the facts of history and logic. The “confederate flag” should not be banned on a personal basis because it would wrongfully and fictitiously
While Stars and Bars have long been associated by many with slavery, the latest campaign to remove Confederate emblems has extended beyond the flag to statues, memorials, parks and even school mascots. The debate over what symbolizes heritage and what stands for hate has never covered so much ground, as efforts to remove icons that have been part of the visual and cultural landscape of the South for decades are a foot at national, state, and local levels. In one Arkansas town, the school board voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the song "Dixie" for the next school year and phase out "Rebel," the school's mascot. "They are part of our history and not all of our history is dandelions and butterflies." - Mick Mulvaney, representative for South Carolina. In Maryland, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz is trying to make a plan that would change the name of Baltimore's Robert E. Lee Park. A spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings, Blake told The Associated Press she supports the name change and is willing to work with the county to find an appropriate alternative name. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have called for a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader, to be removed from an alcove outside the Senate chambers. The bust, with the words "Confederate States Army" engraved on it, has been at the state Capitol for decades. That bust is part of history, yes that guy may have been racist but that's how times was when slavery was around. It is a part of history so we can’t forget it or we might redo the whole situation over again.(“Debate over the confederate
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.
Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.