Something happened in my state of Alabama this weekend, and I was disgusted when I saw the news. They not only put up a Confederate flag, but they had a CEREMONY for it!
In Albertville, Alabama, an organization called the Sons of Confederate Veterans erected a new flag there at the Confederate Veterans Memorial. Defenders of it showed up wearing Confederate uniforms and costumes. They also had a 21-gun salute and a cannon blast in celebration.
This symbol of hate has been widely debated recently. It is definitely part of our history, but people praising and wearing it everywhere are perpetuating the racist values that the Confederacy held. It has been outlawed at many public and federal buildings here in the south.
They use the phrase “heritage not hate” to justify hanging these flags everywhere. They are claiming that it is just about history.
Here is quote from John Taylor, who is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans:
“Usually, the winners tell the story and write the history. Usually, we have a good roundtable discussion–we have it at grant, we have it at different places. If you want to learn the true history of the war between the states, you need to come to our meeting one night. There’s no hate here, we love everybody, but we like to hear the story told right.”
In February, a man in Albertville asked that the flag be taken down from the courthouse. Resident John David Armstrong filed a formal complaint to have the flag removed. He said,
“It represents the murder of an entire race of people for many many years in the past. This is government-sanctioned hatred,”
Armstrong called for Governor Bentley to remove it, but he wasn’t successful. We need to keep fighting to get this flag off of our public buildings. They are allowed to put it on their museums and memorials, but it doesn’t need to be on a government building that serves all people.
Featured image via Twitter.
