After the war, the flag was primarily used for commemorative purposes at graves, memorial services and soldier reunions, but from the perspective of African Americans, the history and heritage that they see is hate, suppression and white supremacy, says Goldfield, and the historical record supports that.
However, he thinks they should respect the fact it does cause offence and not fly it in public. The flag wasn't a major symbol until the Civil Rights movement began to take shape in the s, says Bill Ferris, founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, It was a battle flag relegated to history but the Ku Klux Klan and others who resisted desegregation turned to the flag as a symbol.
He likens it to the swastika but others see it very differently. Indeed, the flag has been compared to a Rorschach blot because it means several things at all at once, depending on who is looking at it. He has even seen it displayed in Europe, where it has become shorthand for "rebel". Since attempts by campaigners in the s to remove the flags from public buildings, he thinks the issue has died down in the US. In , Georgia changed the year-old design of its state flag after pressure to remove the Confederate symbol.
Although the number of incidents is diminishing it's not going away, he says, because it just takes a couple of well-publicised episodes to get it back on people's radars, and feelings inflamed. The South, he says, needs a new emblem to reflect its changing character. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook.
Image source, Getty Images. In the years since, hundreds of Confederate flags, statues and memorials have disappeared, including in the national Capitol. In recent months, Southern company Nascar has banned the flag and the Department of Defense has effectively done so, too.
In a polarised political and media environment, many white Southerners continue to defend their allegiance to the Confederate flag.
They claim the battle flag represents their Southern heritage, as if that heritage comprises an innocent history of mint juleps and church-going. The problem with that claim, as the history of the use of the flag demonstrates, is that the heritage it symbolises is also that of enslavement, inequality, violence and gross injustice.
Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Clare Corbould , Deakin University. All Streams. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email. Elodie Reed. First, some history. An epic hunt for a Confederate flag. A symbol for 'Enough is enough'. Emily Corwin. In , Emily was part of a two-newsroom team which revealed that patterns of inadequate care at Vermont's eldercare facilities had led to indignities, injuries, and deaths.
The consequent series, "Worse for Care," won a national Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting, and placed second for a IRE Award. Emily also reports and produces every other episode of Brave Little State. When she's not working, she enjoys cross country skiing and biking. See stories by Emily Corwin. Related Content. Critics Say Mass. Lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on a pair of bills that could result in the revamping of the state's flag and seal.
Indigenous people and others have criticized the symbol, which shows a composite of a native person under a disembodied arm wielding a sword. Remembering Vermont's 19th Century Black Communities.
A few years ago, Berlin resident Gale Harris was doing some research for a class she was taking at her local senior center. She wanted to find out if…. Angela Evancie. Republished by Blog Post Promoter. Jack Wellman. All Rights Reserved.
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