Deja,
Not only did you and my sister attend Benedict, but she also graduated from Bishop England!
This issue has been going on for several years. Each time the legislature was asked to consider moving the confederate battle flag, they brushed it off and swept it under the rug. Now, the NAACP has issued a tourism boycott and state is paying attention.
I get a laugh every time I read a quote in the newspaper or hear someone on television say the boycott is having no real effect (even though businesses say otherwise). However, they are wrong. Even if the effect is not monetary in nature, it has everyone's attention! Finally! People are talking about it, it captures headlines in the newspaper several times a week, and it is still a top story on the 6 o'clock news.
For the first time, the issue is on the front burner. It is not being brushed off and the chances of it coming to a resolution are within reach.
I, personally, do not believe it belongs on the statehouse dome because the confederacy does not exist. It is a part of history and should be placed in a museum. What does heritage have to do with anything? People have ancestors who fought on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War (remember the loyalists and tories?). They are not asking for the Union Jack to be hoisted above the statehouse, but I'm sure they are just as proud of their heritage and the ancestors that were lost in that war.
If they are so concerned about the memory of their ancestors being tainted, then why don't they do something to keep the hate groups (KKK, skinheads, etc.) from using the flag. How can they expect us as black people to not be offended by the flag? Yes, it is a piece of cloth, but it is a symbol of hate and prejudice to many.
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