I might be one of the
few Black Americans in America not overly agitated or outraged with seeing the
Confederate flag; whether worn as a tee-shirt, hanging from a flagpole, or
displayed as a decal on a car. As a side note, I confess to watching every
episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard” with actors John Schneider and Tom Wopat
driving the General Lee 1969 Dodge Charger. And who can forget the little
southern darling Catherine Bach wearing those ‘daisy dukes’ shorts? It was as
much fun as Burt Reynolds and Sally Field outwit and outdrive Sheriff Buford T.
Justice (actor Jackie Gleason) in the 1970’s Pontiac Trans Am. I digress for
the sake of nostalgia, now back to the point at hand. I am wearied to the depth
of my soul from hearing the mounting calls for banning displaying the
Confederate flag, especially when there is an incident involving racial
violence, or more specifically, murder. The Confederate flag hoisted by General
Robert E. Lee’s rebel army epitomized the brutality and inhumanity of human
bondage known as ‘chattel’ slavery. The thing is, though, slavery wasn’t just a
southern problem, but in the broader context it was an American problem- the
South was just the favorite poster child of this despicable practice that was
legally sanctioned. If one would read some of the slave narratives and other
historical documents, the North wasn’t necessarily so hospitable and
accommodating to the runaway slaves or Freedmen that came into their
territories, either.
In one of my college
classes I learned that the South unanimously outlawed slavery [not just the
importation of new slaves], and the resolution passed eight times in the U.S.
House of Representatives before being defeated in the U.S. Senate every time
the matter came up. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in Texas v Johnson that the U.S. flag is protected speech under the
First Amendment, and I would think that it includes the Old Confederate flag as
well. Justice Brennan’s majority opinion is insightful on this point, in which
he writes that a flag represents a symbol with a determinate range of meanings-
if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment is that the
Government {State or Federal] may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply
because society [or certain segments with it] finds the idea itself oppressive
[morally objectionable], or disgraceful. To me this is the heart of the matter,
even if I would like it to be otherwise. Actually, I am not concerned about the
flag whatsoever because it means different things to different people. Not
displaying the flag will not erase or eradicate this nation’s shameful legacy
of slavery, change people’s hearts, or amend policies and practices that have
disenfranchised people of color for centuries. I for one, want to see the
Confederate flag displayed as a reminder of America’s shame that both sides of
the Mason/Dixon line that each region is equally culpable in their exploitation
of the blood, sweat, tears, and much more, of Black people, especially those
from Africa. Let it be as an enduring symbol to the wealth and prosperity that
have made America one of the greatest nations on earth, economically speaking,
at the expense of cheap, slave labor.
A flag cannot hurt me
but a group of White men wearing a white pointed hood, a white robe with the
insignia of a cross on the front can; or a White male police officer with a
badge on his chest and a gun on his hip can deprive me of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness whether I am approaching him from the front or running
away with my back to him. It doesn’t matter which scenario it is because the
outcome is almost nearly the same; the perpetrator of such a crime almost
always gets away with it. The Federal Hate Crimes statute is almost a joke
because the bar is set so high that it is very unlikely to get a conviction. I
do not know why Prosecutors at the local level don’t just seek indictments for
First degree Manslaughter, or if going the Federal Appeals Court route on
Constitutional grounds, why not seek redress of grievances based on violation
of the Fifth Amendment (part b) by being deprived of Life, Liberty, or Property
without Due Process? Anyway, I sort of got into some of my Law classes in
college mindset so I want to tell all those ‘Dixiecrats’ to embrace your
history, tradition, culture, and your personal truth, and be proud of it; that
is, if you can with a clear conscience. I can at least have some semblance of
respect for people who are out in the open about where they sit on the racial
fence, at least, than those
paternalistic White liberal apologists who believe that opposing them is some
sort of moral high ground, or one more step taken in the long march toward
justice and equality-really? As a final thought, I am wondering if there are
any leftover Union flags that General Ulysses S. Grant’s troops carried into
battle against the Rebs, maybe they could be flown over the capitols in the
Blue states.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St Apt
B11
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 20, 2015
