The Confederate flag is both a symbol of heritage and hate

Now that the ordeal of the Confederate flag’s proposed removal has been temporarily settled, let’s take a moment to step back and see what we have learned from it.

No matter what side we find ourselves on the issue, following the law trumps all opinions and views. We must get some clarity on what the law covers and what constitutes a monument, but if it turns out that it includes this symbol we must comply.

As much as I respect the direction the board at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History was trying to head in, there was some homework that should have been done prior to approaching Danville City Council about removal of the third national Confederate flag from its outside the Sutherlin Mansion on Main Street.

We might want to ask ourselves why there is so much contention when it comes to the waving of this particular flag and those similar to it. Both sides acknowledge that it is a part of our history, while at the same time there are stark differences in how that history is interpreted. Let’s explore it for a brief moment to see what is real and what is not.

What ‘right’ split the nation?

Most of the knowledge most of us are given in school about the American Civil War (1861-65) and the Confederacy was that in the years leading up to it, there was bitter disagreement between the states in the North and South over a number of issues including rights, power and money. We were taught and it was trumpeted that it was most heated over states’ rights and the South bearing the cost of unfair trade tariffs that lead most directly to the grievous American conflict.

Where there seems to be some discrepancy is what states’ right was at the primary epicenter of the controversy.

It would seem there is a lot of denial about the fact slavery was the singular root cause driving a wedge between the opposing parties. The Southern states wanted to continue slavery in their territory as well as expand it to the new territories that were being settled to the west and south by allowing the new states (territories) to choose to be a slave or a free state.

The Northern states wanted slavery to be confined to the areas it was already in but no further as the United States was growing. Robert E. Lee stated, “All the South ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, be preserved; and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth.” As much as revisionists want to paint the rosy picture it was purely a states’ rights issue, clearly slavery that was practiced by the forefathers was at the core of those rights in question.

If the South had their way and had won the war, I imagine some of us might still be enslaved — or have no rights today.

When Abraham Lincoln, who was an opponent of the expansion of slavery, was elected as president of the United States, it lit an inexhaustible fire in the South. Several Southern states went into immediate action toward secession from the Union to form the Confederate States of America before Lincoln was able to take office. This is where the spots of contention come into view, depending upon which prism we choose to look through.

Mississippi’s original secession document stated, “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world … a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.” As well the documents for succession in Texas voiced, “We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various states, and of the Confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or tolerable.” Even the state of Virginia cited the threat to slavery as their reason for leaving the Union and joining the Confederacy.

With all this evidence and more, it is false to say that what mostly led to the Civil War was anything other than the preservation of the institution of slavery for the South and anything other than the preservation of the Union for the North.

The Confederacy, led by Jefferson Davis, began with seven states in the initial months (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Louisiana); after President Lincoln started recruiting men to suppress the insurrection, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina joined, making it 11. Missouri and Kentucky never completely joined but were headed there.

The new government was initially headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, but was later moved to Richmond and finally to Danville, which makes it infamously known as the “Last Capitol of the Confederacy.”

The war against black Americans

Even after the Southern cause had been lost in the war, slavery had been abolished and America seemed to be trying to move away from its personality of the past, there were those that wanted to keep blacks under subjection to the white race.

White men, groups like the Ku Klux Klan and others used fear, intimidation, verbal degradation, brutality, lynchings, murder and many other atrocities to solidify their superiority and never let the “n*****" gain any traction in becoming an equal citizen of this country we call America. Most of the time, these heinous acts were carried out under the banner of one of these flags of the Confederacy.

We can look at pictures of blacks being lynched from trees, smiling white faces and probably somewhere in the mix was a flag of the Confederacy flying in the background. What does that say to us as a black American?

During the Civil Rights era, these same symbols of the South were used to further intimidate the “coloreds” and remind them that they were still viewed as second-class citizens. When laws were passed that stated that blacks were granted equal protection, equal treatment, voting rights and access to all areas of society; these same flags were flown in certain places, institutions and state houses to send a message to African Americans saying that they didn’t belong there.

While others see it as a symbol of heritage and pride, how can blacks see these flags as anything other than a symbol of hate?

What blacks see when they see the flag

Yes these relics are a part of our collective history and for some serve as a nostalgic reminder of Southern Pride; sadly they also remind many of us of a nightmare in time we never want to revisit. I guess the flag supporters want to re-litigate the reasons for the Civil War, re-enact the actual battles, vicariously re-fight the war or resurrect the Old South to uphold a history of four years of struggle that were a stain on the total 400-year interwoven tapestry of the United States of America.

They don’t realize — or maybe don’t care — that the flying of these flags, especially on public property, is a slap in the face of every tax-paying black American because of the long history of hatred that is attached to and associated with it.

Some would say let it fly as a reminder to us of things we never want to go back to and make us fight harder to secure a brighter post-racial future, but what kind of message does it display to Americans of all races and creeds?

I do understand blacks have to look at the bigger picture and choose their battles wisely. Removing the flag won’t change peoples’ attitudes toward them, how they are viewed or how they are treated. But at the same time, while we are trying to be more united, tolerant and welcoming, does a symbol of racial superiority, racial hatred and racial division deserve to be held in such high regard or be so high profile in our city?

We must recognize that wherever we see symbols like this flying, that place doesn’t “seem” to have our best interests at heart. We also can assume they are not sympathetic to the plight we’ve had to endure as a people in this country. Finally, we all must keep a vigilant eye out for things enacted that would turn the clock back in those places as well.

What would have been wrong with taking the flag down outside the Sutherlin Mansion/Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History and putting it on display inside where its history can be told properly and respectfully? Why would we want to condense the legacy of Maj. William T. Sutherlin to only his lending his home to the Confederacy, when he did so much more for Danville and the state of Virginia? What’s the real legacy of the Confederacy and its flags that we want to leave our children as a result of all this disagreement?

There is a solution (several options I have recently read about) that can be reached so that no disrespect is shown to either side moving forward, but are we willing to find that solution?