COMMENTARY
MILT THOMAS
Well, it’s finally happened – two and two finally makes four in the racial hatred equation. The Confederate flag does represent white supremacy. It is a relic of the painful past and does not belong in today’s America anymore than the Nazi flag represents today’s Germany.
History does tell us what that flag represents (if it is still taught in our schools, history that is). For those who might not remember, the pre-Civil War South was dependent on agriculture in an industrial age and its economy only thrived because it didn’t have to pay people to do the work.
Of course, slaves were not considered people. Even those slave owners who knew it was indefensible, turned a blind eye. The Civil War, or War Between the States, or War of Northern Aggression, whatever you want to call it to defend the morally corrupt practice, was a bold attempt by a courageous president to end slavery. Even after that war, African-Americans (and I use that term for those who feel those citizens of African heritage are not Americans) lived in Jim Crow-enforced poverty, working for what we today call slave wages.
It took desegregation, the Civil Rights legislation under Lyndon Johnson, the Watts riots, the assassination of MLK and countless incidents of violence to finally bring our society around. All that remained to satisfy those who long for the good old days of white supremacy and racial humiliation was a flag. It flew proudly over Southern state capitols, on biker jackets, on license plates, decals in store windows and proliferates to this day on the internet.
All it took to make the flag an embarrassment was the senseless murder of nine people in their church by a man welcomed by the people in that church, but so infused with hatred, all he could see were targets.
Because of that incident, we are finally seeing Confederate flags lowered from their supreme perches around the south. The only question now is if and when Florida will follow suit and change its state flag. After all, the great majority of people who live here today do not relate in any way to the Confederate flag, or its modern equivalent, the Florida State Flag. They have no genetic memory of the cruelty inflicted by white on black– except for the African-American Floridians whose ancestors were those very slaves.
Indian River Guardian 
Sad that it was even necessary to write this – but well said. I hope everyone listens and takes it all to heart.
Thank you Milt. It routinely amazes me that so many people know so little about American history. It also saddens me that so many want to perpetuate the thought process into a political policy discussions on such things as the necessity of providing benefits to the less fortunate in our society. There is now discussion about putting a woman on American currency. This should be an easy decision because no woman did so much to improve the lives of the poor in this nation than did Eleanor Roosevelt. She saw that “white supremacy” was a myth and worked tirelessly to save the country from that absurd notion.
Let’s make sure GB lowers the Union Jack as well. It has the same “x”‘and certainly conveys all sorts of the same issues of imperialism, right?? Editor’s note: M Ward declined to allow this comment to be posted with his full name.
Milt,
What’s your source for the ANV flag superimposed with the state seal? I could not find that design in any of several articles on the history of the FL flag.
Bob Swift
Bob,
Florida flag images on Google. It was never an official Florida flag, but there was enough controversy about the reasons why the red X was added to the official flag I used it.
According to one historian quoted in an article published in the Miami Herald, the red X in the flag of Florida was added in 1900 at the urging of then governor Francis P. Fleming. Fleming, a Civil War veteran, was concerned that the flag, then plane white with the state seal in the middle, looked like a white flag of surrender when hanging limp in the absence of wind. Admittedly, the “evidence,” if you will, that the red X in the flag of Florida symbolizes the state’s membership in the Confederate State of America is only circumstantial. Perhaps Fleming was thinking of the Cross of Andrew, or of the flag the Spanish flew over Florida.
Another historian quoted in the Herald’s story contends Fleming intended for Florida’s flag to resemble a Confederate battle flag with the state seal superimposed over the red X. According to the Herald, while Fleming was governor, Florida imposed poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent blacks from voting. Under Fleming, Florida also adopted a so-called grandfather clause. Only those whose grandfathers had the right to vote were also eligible to vote. In an all-white referendum held in 1900, Floridians, by a vote of 5,601 to 4,121, approved adding the red X to the state flag.
Milt,
With all due respect I think your use of the image, and the implication that it represented a real flag was misleading and unnecessarily inflammatory. An undercurrent of the confederate battle flag debate is a rejection of the Lost Cause mythology and a move toward an open and honest discussion of the real cause of the Civil War and the century plus period of Black Codes and Jim Crow that perpetuated the white supremacy of the confederacy. We can have an honest debate about our history without making stuff up.
Best regards,
Bob Swift
Mr. Ward, where oh where did that thought arise?
The ‘Union Jack’ was first introduced in 1606, it was known simply as ‘the British flag’ or ‘the flag of Britain’, and was ordered to be flown at the main masthead of all ships, warships and merchant ships, of both England and Scotland. The flag showed the union of the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland as a collective body under one government and had nothing to do with anything associated with the US and happenings of recent times. The design was based upon religious associations and not inferences of race inequality. Perhaps you might like to go one step further and ask Hawaii to change its state flag while you are at it? I bet that would go down very well!
Bob,
I agree and apologize for adding that flag in haste. I have removed it and appreciate your comments.
Pat, putting a woman’s image on currency might be a small step in the right direction, but I would be far more enthused by a move to ensure women equal pay for equal work.
Thanks Milt. The issue is a sensitive one for me as I lived in SC for several years and had reason to be in Columbia on a regular basis. It chafed every time I saw the battle banner flying at the capitol. I also had the privilege of working with Senator Pinckney and his loss has added to my rejection of the “Lost Causers”. The actions by Gov Haley and the SC legislature in the wake of the Charleston massacre are outstanding. (Though it would have been better had the battle banner been lowered out of respect as were the US and state flags.) That those actions were quickly followed across the deep south is even more astounding, and positive. One can honor and show respect to those who fought, on both sides, of that horrific war without using symbols of division and hate. And I agree with you that Florida has a long way to go in that regard.
Bob Swift