Culture

The importance of symbols: The Confederate flag as a message of hate

Eds note: This is an updated version of this article with revised title.

|Laura Fralich|
As American flags pop up on lawns across the country in celebration of Independence Day, we know that there is generally a shared understanding of what the flag symbolizes in this country and why people are flying it. We have been taught in implicit and explicit ways that the flag symbolizes the freedoms that many Americans have fought for over the years. For most Americans, though not all, the symbol of the flag conjures up unspoken ideals of liberty and patriotism. We must acknowledge and accept that all symbols carry powerful messages, whether they are the messages we are trying to convey or not.

Waving the American flag. Photo: Shutterstock

The Confederate flag is one of those symbols. It is visible even in our small town of New Gloucester- in private businesses and even in our town’s annual Memorial Day parade.  It carries with it divisive ideas of history, identity, rebellion, heritage, exclusion, discrimination, and hate. For some, it has come to represent a historical and geographic identity. For others, it represents hate, intolerance, violence, and the most shameful era of American history. One thing is for certain, however; it is not a neutral symbol and it cannot be viewed that way. If you use a racial slur, you cannot justify it by saying that you have a different definition of the word. Symbols, like words, hold immense power. While symbols can mean different things to different people and be interpreted in many ways, it is essential for the person promoting that symbol to take accountability for all of the ways that that symbol is being interpreted and accept the fact that they cannot pick and choose the meaning and history that they want the symbol to convey or the emotions that it will evoke in others. If you fly the Confederate flag to represent a certain heritage, you are also making the choice to promote a symbol of hate, racism, white supremacy, and a historical rebellion in favor of the institution of slavery. To deny these associations is to ignore the realities of our current world, as well as our nation’s past.

The Confederate flag has long been used by white supremacy groups to promote the idea of white superiority and has accompanied atrocious acts of hate. The Klu Klux Klan has flown it at lynching parties and it has been waved by angry mobs opposing school integration. More recently it was seen in a picture of Dylan Roof that came out after he murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina and at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a protester was killed. After these incidents, sales of the Confederate flag actually increased across the country and especially in the North.

In Maine, to fly the Confederate flag under the guise of heritage and history is a confusing and ill-informed argument in a state that fought against the Confederacy. Similarly, to relegate issues of racism to the South ignores our own state’s problematic history: our systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans and the racism that has been perpetuated in our government, institutions, and culture. The KKK has a long history in Maine and as recently as 2017, recruitment fliers were sent to houses a few towns over in Freeport and in other communities across the state. The group’s membership and visibility have gone in waves over the years in Maine, but in 1924 there were a staggering 40,000 members of the KKK in Maine and they were pivotal in electing Governor Ralph Brewster. There have been rallies as recently as 1988 in South Portland and Rumford.

While it is easy to point to the explicit racism of hate groups like the KKK, the legacy of racism is pervasive in many institutions in our state and can be seen in current statistics. A recent study exposed the appalling fact that Maine has the nation’s largest racial disparity in Covid-19 cases with Black communities contracting the virus at 20 times the rate of White communities in our state. In Maine’s schools, Black students continue to speak out against the racist abuse and harassment that they are subjected to, as well as the indifference and inaction of school administrations in addressing the issue. In addition, the recent protests against police brutality have highlighted the fact that in cities across the state, Black people are two to four times more likely to be arrested by police than White people.

In his recent, groundbreaking book, How To Be An Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi argues that to be “not racist” is a fallacy. He suggests instead that an action or policy is either racist and therefore promotes a history and ideology that treats different races unequally – or it is antiracist because it is trying to dismantle that ideology. Being antiracist is not a stagnant concept; it is an action that requires continuous re-evaluation and intentional work.  Howard Zinn uses the analogy that you can’t stay neutral on a moving train. It is not possible to promote the Confederate flag as a symbol of southern heritage without subsequently owning its racist heritage rooted in violence and the continued suppression of Black Americans.

On this Independence Day, we must recognize and fight for the rights of all Americans, particularly people of color, by demanding more from ourselves and our elected officials to address the racial disparities in our health care, education, economic, and criminal justice systems. We must reject the Confederate flag and the racism and violence that is entrenched in its history. We must call for the removal of these symbols in our town if we are going to promote ourselves as a welcoming and inclusive community. We must continually reimagine a better world and actively work to create it.

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