The African-American Uprising

Though the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1965 marked the end of slavery in the United States, African-Americans would not see anything resembling true freedom from the segregation and isolation imposed by slavery until very recently, and only after decades of difficult struggle. Some of the most important achievements occurred during the 1960s, when a generation of African-American leaders and activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and the Freedom Riders, fought against some of the last vestiges of explicit, institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and isolation in order to attain equality and civil rights. Only by examining the treatment of African-Americans throughout America's history can one begin to understand how the the ending of slavery, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and the contemporary issues facing the African-American community are inextricably linked. In turn this allows one to see how rather than existing as a single, identifiable turning point in the history of civil rights, African American's struggle for equality and an end to isolation must be considered as an ongoing project.

Rebellion has always been the cornerstone of change. Wherever a rebellion has surfaced a change has soon followed, whether it is political change such as an overthrow of a government or just the overthrow of an oppressor such as a slaver. Some rebellions however are less justified than others; none more so than slave rebellions. Slavery in America was one of our biggest mistakes as a nation and was by far the most terrible time in African American history. However most slaves although poorly treated were given places to live and enough food to survive. They weren’t treated as people but as property and had about as many rights as a sack of potatoes. This led to most, if not all, slaves feeling a lot of animosity towards their owners. The more educated of slaves tried to find ways to get out of their servitude. When all peaceful means of getting out of their servitude had failed they went to flat out rebellion. Slave rebellions tended to be extremely violent and usually very rash. And when the rebellions were better planned they tended to be even more violent and disturbing. These rebellions however were completely unjustified and the slaves had no right to revolt the way they did.

Between 1860 and 1877, America was in the midst of the Civil War and reconstruction following the war. America had many good ideas; however, very few of their revolutionary ideas ever effectuated exactly as planned. During this time period, there were many good ideas that were applied to the constitution or were said to be good, however many of these ideas were never truly implemented. Critics could state that America had undergone a revolution, however there was not much truly revolutionary about these events. It was not just constitutional changes, there were also social changes that were supposed to take place, but inevitably failed to actually be executed into Americans lifestyle.

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

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.

To this day, African Americans are still going through major injustices and are fighting to give importance to their race. The Confederate flag evokes white supremacy and is a reminder of the humiliation, discrimination, and the strong hatred African Americans had to induce. Banning the flag from being used is a step forward to a future of a society more intolerant to such prejudice

During this time The Confederate Flag was “also periodically flown by the Ku Klux Klan” (Hanson.) A contributing factor to the Ku Klux Klan’s efforts in detaining a race from their full economic, social, and political advancements, was the Confederate Flag. The history that the flag holds brought the Confederate Flag into a scene of hatred towards another race, and the platform for the inequality against the second half majority of the American Public. At the time of the iconic Civil Rights Movement, “the Confederate flag represented state resistance to the rights of African Americans.” (Teaching for Change.) Man against man, fighting for two different things in a time of spite. These were the years of brutal force, the idea of integration in the school system and other political, social, or economic jobs, were being fought with physical abuse, but also with a flag of a tortured

The problem we are facing today is whether or not the confederate flag is a symbol of hate and racism of just some peoples misunderstanding of the meaning of the flag it’s self. I think meaning of the flag is simple and straightforward ,it represents the Confederate side in the civil war. I do not think the confederate flag should be banned on private or public property for a few reasons .One reason is that the civil war a huge mark on our history that needs to be remembered. Another reason would be that the civil war was not about slavery. The man that Started this big debate Dylann Roof was completely crazy.

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.

On September 18, 1863 Confederate soldiers stood proud at the edge of the battle field raising their Confederate Flag in pride and hope. One hundred and fifty-four years later, that flag is now being demonized from its true meaning by many people. Conflict about this well-known flag has been going on for generations. In Georgia, during the Civil War, the Confederate Flag represented the formation of the Confederacy and hope for success of the Southern states; now some people have turned the flag into a symbol of racism, hate, and many more untrue meanings.

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.

There is an ongoing argument about the confederate flag because most people that fly it believe it means southern pride. However, if they knew the true meaning of the flag they would not continue to fly it, especially not on government buildings. Not only are there a great number of people who fly the flag simply because they are racist, but a majority of people have no clue what the flag really represents. The ADL Database for Hate Symbols states that “the flag also served as a potent symbol of slavery and white supremacy, which has caused it to be very popular among white supremacists in the 20th and 21st century” (Anti- Defamation League 2017). People should be educated on the flag’s history so they can know that it means more than just southern pride. Informing the public can be as simple as holding large meetings explaining what the flag used to represent, and how that stigma doesn’t just go away with time. For numerous amounts of people, the flag continues to hold that reputation. If more people were aware of the flag’s history, they would understand why it is so offensive to others and hopefully would not want to fly it

One of the biggest controversies of the summer that I saw on the news and heard about was the taking down of the confederate flag. Many called for the removal of the confederate flag on many of the state buildings that were public, even top retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Amazon pulled images of the confederate flag from their stores and websites. However, in my opinion yes the confederate flag should be taken down from public state buildings but the flag should not be taken down from Civil War related museums or other things such as that. The flag has a very strong history behind it, and in this world today I feel like people would rather be politically correct on issues rather than teaching the actual history behind things such as the

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.