I believe many would agree that the Confederate Flag should not be housed on a government building in 2015 and probably should have been removed years ago. After the events that took place in Charleston this week, a petition has been started to remove the Confederate Flag from the State House.
To many, the Confederate Flag is representation of civil war era of the southern United States. A little history lesson for those that may not know, the Confederate Flag is a battle flag of the southern “Confederate States” that fought and lost against the Union during the Civil War. It has since been adopted by hate groups such as the KKK and was even raised in various places in the south as a statement against desegregating schools.
Today in 2015, unfortunately, the flag still proudly flies on the State House in South Carolina. Something as insignificant as a flag is the very reason why race relations can never move forward. How can it when something that represents so much hate and hostility flies on a government building?
The shooter of the AME Church in Charleston could be seen sporting the confederate flag, along with the South African Apartheid flag, in various pictures and even had it tagged on the license plate of his car. Some, however, argue that the flag represents southern tradition and what was the civil war for them. SMH.
The Petition, which was started by activists in the group MoveOn, has received more than 120,000 signatures and in their argument they describe the flag as a sign of hate, division, and racism. The government’s response to this petition will be a direct correlation to how seriously they see race relations moving forward in this country, if you ask me.
I really don’t know what to expect from the petition but it will definitely be interesting to the response it gets!
Source: The Hill
