Justice

15 Brilliant Responses to South Carolina's Confederate Flag

June 19th 2015

Following Wednesday's horrific mass shooting at the historically Black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, more than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina capitol. 

"The Confederate flag is not a symbol of southern pride but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism," the petition reads. "On the heels of the brutal killing of nine Black people in a South Carolina church by a racist terrorist, it's time to put that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward healing and a better United States of America!"

The hashtag #TakeDowntheFlag also started trending to promote the same message:

 

A White House spokesman indicated that President Obama supports removing the flag:

The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates, a respected voice on race relations, also penned an article about why the flag should come down. Coates acknowledged the common argument in favor of the flag, which is that it represents Southern heritage not racism, but explained why that rationale falls short.

"The Confederate flag’s defenders often claim it represents 'heritage not hate,'" Coates wrote. "I agree—the heritage of White Supremacy was not so much birthed by hate as by the impulse toward plunder. Dylann Roof plundered nine different bodies last night, plundered nine different families of an original member, plundered nine different communities of a singular member. An entire people are poorer for his action. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this act—it endorses it."

Many others agree that the flag needs to go. Here is what others have said on social media:


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Should South Carolina remove its confederate flag?

No 14%Yes 86%