Racism And The Confederate Flag

Is the Confederate flag really a flag of hate? Contrary to popular belief, the Confederate flag does not stand for racism, it stands for freedom. It stands for the men who lost their lives fighting for a doomed country, white and black. It stands for not letting others push you around and control you. I stands for the “bad side” in the Civil War. It is the proof that despite the fact that we boast about being stubborn, we are ignorant to the fact that all we do is follow the crowd. It represents a piece of history incredibly rich, yet so full of sorrow, that we are trying to erase. But people do not see this, they only see hate, and they are too oblivious to truly understand what this symbol of liberty stands for. This is why the

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 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?

Hear the Northern thunders mutter! Northern flags in South’s winds flutter! To Arms, To Arms, To Arms in Dixie! Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! To Arms, To Arms, To Arms in Dixie! Advance the flag of Dixie! Hurrah! Hurrah! For Dixie’s land we take our stand, And we live or die for Dixie! To Arms! To Arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! To Arms! To Arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! –Confederacy chant. Many people praise it, display it, and chant it, yet others view it with pure disgust. Once again, the Confederate or “Rebel Flag has been shoved onto the table of debate due to the raising of the flag in front of the South Carolina State House. So much debate has arose that President Obama was questioned where this flag should be placed? President Obama replied with a very considerate answer. His answer was, “In a museum.” But why would he want to take down the flag and retire it? Many have applauded him upon the issue, yet others are left confused as to why? Many people fly the Confederate Flag with pride and none of which are racist. In fact, the flag does not even represent

some people look at the Confederate flag and only see hate. There are people in this world that use the Confederate flag as a racist symbol, that is why people think it stands for hate. In Indiana the whole controversy over racism is not a big deal because people look at the Confederate flag and realize that it is a part of history and so many people lost their lives fighting for the Confederate flag and everything it symbolizes. In states like South Carolina there are still huge fights and shootings between a black and white person. There are still KKK groups in some of the southern states People don't take the time to think about what the flag symbolizes, because when they see the flag they instantly assume hate That is not the case for many people, a lot of veterans and other people see the flag as a symbol of heritage and do not want it taken down. The people that want it taken down has probably had racial comments or gestures made towards them, not to mention there are some people that just jump on one side of the controversy because they do not know which side is the right side and they don't want to be hated for making the wrong decision. There are some people that don't care whether the flag stays up or gets

Changing attitudes and actions about the Confederate battle flag have risen since the tragedy in South Carolina with the shooting of 9 people in a church during a bible study. The confederate flag has been and is a symbol of hatred, oppression and even senseless acts of murder for many. The removal of the flag at the Capital are being called for by thousands of South Carolina protesters, politicians, both Democrats and Republicans along with South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley. She stated, “That flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future. By removing a symbol that divides us, we can move forward as a state in harmony.” Even retailers such as Wal-Mart, E-bay and Amazon stood in support by pulling merchandise with the confederate flag on it. This is an ethical decision based on moral principles and demonstrates their changing

The Confederate flag has engendered controversy among the people of the United States. After the Charleston church shooting of June this year, the Confederate flag flying in South Carolina's capitol has brought about more attention when pictures of the gunman posing with the flag were exposed. Less than a month later, a ceremony was held to finally remove the flag, where more than 10,000 people stood by cheering it on. In more recent news, a law has been proposed to eliminate the flag indefinitely by prohibiting its use. Through this law, we are slowing fighting the racism in this country.

Can the same flag that symbolizes southern heritage also be a symbol of hate? In 2015, a tragic shooting occurred at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charlestown, South Carolina. The Charleston shooter, Dylan Roof, was charged with killing nine African-Americans. After this horrible act, he waved the confederate flag in photographs sparking an issue with the flag. Two articles were released concerning whether or not the confederate flag should be removed from the South Carolina capitol. The first article, “Take Down the Confederate Flag, Symbol of Hatred”, was released by The New York Times editorial board on June 22, 2015. This article proposed that the flag should be removed. Following the release of this article, on June 24, 2015 “Keep the Confederate Flag Flying” was released by Selwyn Duke claiming the flag should remain. In these articles, both authors incorporated persona, audience, tone and style to effectively argue whether or not the flag should remain to Americans who may side with their argument.

In The Hill, a top U.S. political magazine, in June 2015, Contributor H. A. Goodman wrote, “The Confederate flag is indeed America 's swastika.” In the same way the Jewish community sees the swastika as a painful reminder of the Holocaust, the African-American community perceives the flag as a reminder of slavery and racial discrimination. The Confederate flag, a relic of the devastating Civil War, has become one of the most controversial and contentious icons in American history. The debate over the flying of the Confederate flag is in regard to the Southern Civil War ideals of slavery and white racial superiority that historians have agreed the flag represents. Supporters of the Confederate flag argue that as a symbol of Southern pride, honor, and character, the flag is a reminder of the South’s distinctive and rich history. Opponents of the flag contend that rather than a symbol of southern bravery, the Confederate flag symbolizes the racist, hateful ideas of the Confederacy. The Confederate flag, a clear symbol of white superiority, prejudice, and slavery, should not be allowed to be perpetuated by the government in a society where those ideals should be long gone.

Confederate flags symbolise different things to others. One may say, “It shows slavery and persecution” and others say “It is pride of southern heritage”. More so today, people will see it as persecution, and believe it is wrong to wield around the flag of the nation, who pursued one of America’s greatest shames.

In David Sarratt’s article “The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture” (2005), he explains both sides of the Confederate Flag controversy, including current controversy and the issue of race involved in the Confederate Flag. Sarratt supports his claim with facts and examples of the Confederate Flag debate between David Beasley, who thinks the flag should be taken down and Charles Condon who opposes taking the flag down. He gives reasons in order to not support the Confederate Flag and a few details to elaborate it as well. His article interests readers who are mostly against the Confederate Flag.

Pro-Confederates argue that the flag we have come to know as the Confederate flag is not the same flag as the one flown on Confederate battle fields. While it is true that the flag we see today wasn’t the official flag of the Confederate states, it was flown by several Confederate Army units, including Robert E. Lee’s unit (Brumfield). After the end of the Civil War, the Confederate flag largely disappeared, but made its comeback during the Civil Rights movement. According to Malik Miah, a reporter for Solidarity, the Confederate flag was flown at the South Carolina state capitol beginning in 1962 in defiance of the Civil Rights movement (Miah). The flag had flown at the South Carolina state capitol ever since – until now. Other defenders of the Confederate flag say that the flag is merely a symbol of the heritage of the area and the sacrifice of veterans who died defending it (Lagarde). However, the history of African-American racism and the Southern heritage are intimately intertwined. Looking at the Confederate flag brings feelings of prejudice, discrimination, and

With my green South Korean passport in one hand and my American dream in the other, I landed in JFK. In a yellow cab that I have always admired to ride, I drove past the Manhattan bridge, past the Statue of Liberty. Suddenly, a sense of pride filled my heart as now that I am a part of this extraordinary country. America is the dream of liberty. The free country, like I’ve learned in history books, it is the land of opportunity. One can voice their opinion with the freedom of speech, in other words, the freedom to hate.

The confederate flag has been an issue for many years now, and nothing has been done about it. It is undeniably a slap in the face to the African American community. The article by Libby Nelson “The Confederate Flag Symbolizes White Supremacy” is an article that is effective and many people could agree with her logic. The government should take more action to make this a public matter. It is technically legal and that is the main problem. We fought for so many years to overcome the leash they put on African Americans to become successful. The flag just represents an unpleasant past and as Americans we should not be able to broadcast that to one another.

The author mentioned that some citizens are still perturbed by the Confederate flag. While the number is slowly waning, many citizens were a part of the civil rights movement. They watched racist people protest against them using the flag as a symbol of racism, oppression, and hatred. To some, the flag may serve as a permanent reminder that racism is not truly dead in America.