The Confederate Flag is Finally Coming Down

Following the Charleston massacre, the State of South Carolina is finally going to take down the Confederate flag.  Yahoo News reports that:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House approved a bill removing the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement.

The move early Thursday came after more than 13 hours of passionate and contentious debate, and just weeks after the fatal shootings of nine black church members, including a state senator, at a Bible study in Charleston."South Carolina can remove the stain from our lives," said 64-year-old Rep. Joe Neal, a black Democrat first elected in 1992. "I never thought in my lifetime I would see this."The House easily approved the Senate bill by a two-thirds margin (94-20), and the bill now goes to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. She supports the measure, which calls for the banner to come down within 24 hours of her signature.

"It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state," Haley said in a statement.

That symbol of slavery, hatred, segregation and treason should have been removed years ago. It is a shame that nine innocent people had to die in order to finally get that hate flag removed.

This is a great symbolic victory. However, we should not be pacified and deceived by symbols. The larger, more significant struggle continues. We must now bring down the Confederate mentality and its institutions.

LL Cool J and Intentional Racism

"If you don't judge my doo rag, I won't judge your red flag.
If you don't judge my gold chains, I'll forget the iron chains...
The past is the past. You feel me?
Let bye gones be bye gones.
R.I.P. Robert E. Lee.
But, I gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me."
LL Cool J

Naw, LL. I don't feel you. 

Even though slavery ended 150 years ago, some Negroes are still for sell. They will say and do anything for a dollar. They will coon, Tom, tap dance, shine shoes, eat watermelons and perform any other demeaning tasks for a quick buck.

A prime example of this phenomenon is the recent LL Cool J controversy. Recently, he released a song with Brad Paisley entitled Accidental Racist. In case you have not heard the song, the video is below.



The Confederate flag is not just some harmless symbol of Southern pride. It is a symbol of oppression. It is a symbol of exploitation. It is a symbol treason. It is a symbol of death. Confederate soldiers did not die for some great and noble cause. They died and killed in order to protect their "right" to own and sell enslaved Africans. The Confederacy waged a bloody civil war against the United States government. Thousands upon thousands of Americans died during the civil war. So, I do not wish Robert E. Lee well. I wish him hell.

During the 1950s and 60s, we fought for basic civil rights. We fought for the right to vote. We fought for the right to eat at lunch counters. We fought for the right to sit where we choose on the bus. We fought for the right to attend desegregated schools. We fought for the right to live and stay where we want.

During that struggle, one symbol was used to rally violent, racist opposition. That symbol was the Confederate flag. We were beaten under that flag. We were lynched under that flag. We were shot and buried in ditches under that flag. That racism was not accidental. It was intentional. So, no. I cannot forget about that flag. It is not a symbol to be respected and honored. It is a symbol that should be trampled upon and burned to ashes.

I definitely will not forget about slavery. Jewish Holocaust survivors say "never forget." I respect that. I honor that. Well, we are victims of a holocaust as well. Millions of Africans died during the Middle Passage. Those of us who did not die were forced to endure hell on earth. We were bought, sold, whipped, burned, raped, maimed, castrated, hung and shot. We are supposed to just forget all that suffering?!! We are supposed to just let "bye gones be bye gones?" Seriously?! That is outrageous and ridiculous! We have been taught to never forget Pearl Harbor and 9/11. So, why are we so quick to forget our own suffering?

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

Confederacy Controversy "Does Not Amount to Diddly"

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) made the controversial decision to recognize April 2010 as Confederate History Month and initially omitted any reference to slavery. Appearing on CNN's State of the Union on April 11, 2010, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R) said that controversy is making "a big deal out of something that does not amount to diddly." What do you think?