I am a black
South Carolinian. Here’s why I
support the Confederate flag.
I hang the Confederate flag in
my home. But that doesn't mean
it should fly over our
statehouse.
By Byron Thomas June 24, 2015
Four years ago, I became a
national news story after I hung
a Confederate flag in my dorm
room window at the University of
South Carolina Beaufort.
Controversy wasn’t my intention.
For me and many Southerners, the
flag celebrates my heritage and
regional pride. One of my
ancestors, Benjamin Thomas, was
a black Confederate cook, and I
do not want to turn my back on
his service to the South. So I
hang the flag in honor of his
hard work and dedication to
South Carolina during the Civil
War.
My Confederate flag isn’t
racist; after all, I am black.
I’m also an American who
strongly believes in the
constitutional right to free
speech. I fought back against
the university’s demand that I
take my flag down simply because
others view it as a symbol of
racism. I fought back against
the racist interpretation of the
flag and I won.
Now there’s a similar debate
about the Confederate flag that
flies over South Carolina’s
statehouse. In the wake of the
Charleston church shooting and
pictures of the accused killer
posing with the Confederate
flag, people have demanded the
flag be permanently removed from
the statehouse grounds. I deeply
respect and honor the nine
people whose lives were lost in
that church, who died with love
in their hearts even though evil
was among them. I felt that
lowering the flag would give
power to the racist terrorist
who killed them. For a long
time, it bothered me that every
time someone raised the
Confederate flag, someone else
fought to have it removed.
Racists hijacked the Confederate
flag, and by effectively banning
it on college campuses and
government grounds, we would
allow them to keep it.
But my perspective has changed.
In her speech this week calling
for state legislators to remove
the flag from the statehouse
grounds, Gov. Nikki Haley spoke
of unity. She equally
acknowledged the pain and the
pride that the flag holds for
South Carolinians. She noted how
debate over the flag was hurting
the state’s soul. “We are not
going to allow this symbol to
divide us any longer,” she said.
“The fact that it causes pain to
so many is enough to move it
from the capitol grounds.”I
love the Confederate flag, but I
love South Carolina and its
citizens more. While the flag’s
existence on the statehouse
grounds never offended me — and
it still does not today — I
can’t ignore the deep pain that
it causes for many people in my
state. I can’t ignore that many
can’t love South Carolina as I
do until the flag is removed.
Continuing to let it fly at our
capitol could incite the kind of
protests and violence that have
erupted in other states that
ignore the pain of some of its
citizens. I don’t want to see
fires, looting and violence in
our streets simply because we
refuse to let go of symbols of
our past. That kind of
demonstration would be out of
line with the friendly and
patriotic character of South
Carolina.
Taking down the Confederate flag
does not mean supporters of the
flag have lost. It’s a message
that we refuse to allow the
people who use the flag as a
symbol of hate to divide us.
We may never completely agree on
whether the Confederate flag is
a symbol of racism or pride, and
whether the Civil War was fought
primarily over slavery or
state’s rights. But South
Carolinians should turn their
focus to what we do agree on:
that we are citizens of the
greatest country in the world
and the most patriotic state in
the nation. As such, just two
banners should fly over our
statehouse grounds: the South
Carolina flag and the American
flag.
Regardless of what happens at
the statehouse, I will continue
to hang the Confederate flag in
my apartment. Because of that
decision, I’ve been called “an
Uncle Tom” and “a sellout,” and
accused of despising my race.
Let me be clear: I love the skin
that I am in. God gave me my
skin color, but he also gave me
freedom to think for myself and
the right to stand by my
beliefs. My skin color should
not determine how I think, what
I believe and what flags I hang
in my home. This process should
teach us all to respect the
beliefs of others. I hope those
who view the Confederate flag as
a symbol of hate will keep open
minds to those who view it as a
symbol of Southern heritage and
history, regardless of their
race. |
