I knew I wouldget hate mail for my last editorial entitled “Play Ball, Ni***r!”. Here aresnippets of just a few.
FACT: The Confederate flag, or the “Southern Cross,” was used at sea and inthe field by Confederate troops in 1863 (During this time period, what was theposition of black people in the South? Were they not slaves?), and it hasbecome the generally recognized symbol of the south ever since.
FACT: From 1882-1930, a period of time known as the “lynching era”, black men,women, and children were being brutally killed by white lynch mobs at thealarming rate of at least one per week in ten southern states. Although theConfederate flag had not been appropriated at that time by the KKK as a symbol,it DID in fact wave (Notice that I didn’t say the flag was waved AT a lynching)as a recognizable symbol of the South DURING this sick period of time insouthern history. Between 1882-1968, there were approximately 4,743 lynchingsin the south.
FACT: During the 1950s and 60s, the Confederate flag was raised in southernstates to protest integration. Denmark Groover, a segregationist and GeorgiaHouse floor leader in 1956 who sponsored legislation to add the Confederateflag to the state flag, admitted this. At “Ole Miss” in 1962, the Confederateflag was waved by protestors who were attempting to bar James Meredith fromattending the school. The Confederate flag was adopted by the KKK as ONE oftheir symbols during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s as an alternativeto the United States flag (The Klan waved the US flag for years before theymade the switch to the Confederate flag. They still wave it, but they wave itupside down.). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in 1968. This flag WASin fact waved by racist white supremacists DURING THE TIME of his assassinationand other hate-related atrocities during that period (There’s your proof,REBEL, not that I owe YOU anything! You don’t need to see a picture to knowthat! If that doesn’t suffice, do your own damn research!).
The fact of thematter is that, to black people today, the Confederate flag is a reminder ofthe basest, most insidious form of racism in America and that a large segmentof society still views us as unequal citizens. This knowledge alone should tellthose that proudly wave it in public but claim they disdain its associationwith racism and who don’t want to be seen as racists that they should show somesensitivity and find another way to represent their southern pride that doesn’tstep on the feelings of African-Americans. I KNOW that everyone who owns aConfederate flag isn’t a racist and I KNOW that the flag was not originallycreated as a symbol of racial hatred.
Like I said,the swastika wasn’t either. But both of them are racist symbols now and theyhave been for a long time, right along with the Orthala Rune, the Aryan Fist,the Celtic cross, the SS Thunderbolt, and all that other crap. The fact of thematter is that the flag offends us: red, white and blue or purple and gold! Itdoesn’t matter what color it is, the same hateful history is attached to it!
Knowing what Iknow about this flag’s place in history, don’t expect me to bite my tongue whenyou wave it in my face and don’t get mad at me when I speak my mind about it!Blame your great grand pappies and your great grand mammies and your greatgrand wizards and your great grand dragons for polluting your Southern prideand heritage with their hate!
Now, since Ispit on the Confederate flag in my last editorial and called southern whitepeople out for displaying it, I’m being labeled as a racist and a bigot. Angrywhite people are coming out of the woodwork to attack me for being a”race-baiter” and a “hate-monger” because I touched their nerves with myopinion on this issue. Did I say “White people suck!”? Did I say “KILLWHITEY!”? Do I hate white people? HELL NAW! I made that clear severaleditorials ago (check the record).
I was merelyfocusing my anger on the white fans (and whoever else) at LSU (no comments fromthem yet) who have been waving purple and gold Confederate flags (That’s who’s waving’em, right?). How can I be racist and speak out against racism? I could neverhate an entire race of people.
I don’t hatewhite people, I hate RACIST PEOPLE! Unfortunately, the racist people who see meas their target are mostly white! Since I seem to have the attention of “WhiteAmerica” this week and since you wanna attack me and call me this-and-that,let’s talk about some things.
I didn’t readabout racism in a book or watch a movie about racism to learn about it! I’vebeen to your schools and served in your military! I’ve actually sat in themidst of your conversations and heard you say “NIGGER THIS” and “NIGGER THAT”like I wasn’t even there!
I caught beatdowns as a kid by white people right here in Louisiana who told me things like”This is OUR street, NIGGER! This is OUR school NIGGER!” This wasn’t 100 yearsago during slavery or during the Civil Rights movement! This was 1989! I’mpretty sure that after a lot of you read my editorial last week I was calledquite a few “niggers” and “black bastards” by the same people who wanna call mea racist and a bigot!
That’s YOURTITLE! YOU WEAR IT! No, I’m not talking about all white people, but let’s bereal. White people do seem to have the biggest monopoly on racism in America.
Now you wannataunt me by waving your Confederate flags in my face and expect me to be coolwith it? I’ll tell you what! Give us a proper apology for slavery (aREPARATIONS CHECK) and maybe we can talk about you waving your little stupidflag at your football games!
I’m not apologizing for anything I saidabout the Confederate flag or the people that wave them. As a matter of fact(I’m speaking STRICTLY to white racists who wave this flag and others who waveit knowing that it offends African-Americans), I don’t give a damn about YOURsouthern heritage or YOUR southern pride(That flag says the same thing to blackpeople!) or whatever the hell else you say YOUR flag stands for.
It’s got mypeople’s blood on it! You can be proud and wave your flags in the comfort ofyour own homes and not in my face! If you want to hide behind the firstAmendment and put the flag on your pick-up trucks and your big belt buckles andwave ’em at your games, then I’ll use that same first Amendment and practice myfreedom of speech by wiping my feet on your flag and setting it on fire!
