What the Confederate flags represent is not unknowable, vague or even slightly mysterious. The ideas and reasoning of those who created and fought under them, as expressed in speeches, editorials and the Articles of Secession, were clearly recorded and are remarkably unambiguous.
“As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause,” wrote William Tappan Thompson, designer of the second (the “Stainless Banner”) and third (the “Blood-Stained Banner”) versions of the Confederate National Flag, explaining why he chose a white background for his design.
Flying any of the flags representing the Confederacy sends a clear message to any reasonable person not determined to feign, or wallow in, ignorance. That hateful message is aimed specifically at our black neighbors, friends and family. It was also clarified by Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens in 1861, as he described the foundation of the Confederate government: “… its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.”
A clear acknowledgment of this message is evident in the fact that the Confederate flag was flown proudly at countless cross burnings and lynchings in the 20th century and is still a staple of white supremacist rallies today, although the failed government that it represented collapsed more than 150 years ago.
So, go ahead and fly your flag – it provides me a good teachable moment as I aim to help my young children learn to recognize bigotry, both past and present.
Jason Decker
Lewiston
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