Thomasa Massey, 49, jumps out of her car at Pearl Park in a majority-white Jackson suburb wearing a T-shirt with Confederate butterflies she designed with Pride, Not Prejudice underneath. They believe that Joe Biden has declared a civil war on them by mandating that employers with over 100 employees and the military have vaccinations. Agitated at the news that yet another armed agent of the state has killed a member of the public, protesters object. ), Schools are not teaching history the right way, he says. Today, the symbol often appears at pro-white rallies and is a lightning rod in Americas calcifying racial divides. They would speak of us as ghosts and servants of a God they now fear. In 1863, the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger wrote that the flag's Southern cross pointed to "the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave" the Confederacy's hoped-for expansion of slavery into Latin America. News of another police killing hits before the grieving family has concluded their press conference, and the cycle begins again, until it breaks, or we do. Sitting quietly in the corner, they wait patiently, hoping for the best but prepared to do the absolute worst. He accurately interpreted the cause of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, men who were too weak to truthfully address that causes natural end. But the flag's meaning was never really innocuous. The most widespread Nazi flag featured a black swastika in a white circle on a red field. But black newspapers didn't buy it: "Have we so soon forgot what the Confederate flag represents?" White folks can be that, too. His father sent a note back with no groceries. But that reverence now stops at the capitol grounds. Mississippi has bent over backwards to say Im sorry. According to Jacob, the blue line both divides and saves: It separates the black stripes representing civilians above it from the black stripes below it, which represent criminals, a distinct category from people worthy of protection. 661 likes. If you dont breathe life into something, it will die, Massey adds. Editors Note: And from the moment the design of its best-known flag was proposed, some Southerners began imbuing it with the symbolism of their cause. Lindy nods, describing her childhood of poverty when the familys land was all they had left. The history teacher could handle it if the state flag changed, though. Joe Barnes gets into the truck at his home in Seminary, Mississippi. Then Johnson turns to Roof: All of the views and racial hatred symbols that informed his opinion walked into that church with him. Men that live outside the illusion of safety built upon walls of ignorance and denial that is our peaceful existence in this world. The current cycle of protests is a grotesque and familiar protocol, shaped over the past years since the killing of Michael Brown in 2014. However, to a very select few, its much much more. Embrace Violence a movement dedicated to the Military Operators that embrace the reality of combat; continuing the fight. President Truman had vowed to do more to promote civil rights, integrating the military and telling the NAACP that civil rights could not wait. The KKK waved the Confederate flag. Thats what states rights were about: protecting slavery, he says. from the Confederacy's vice president that declared the Confederacy's cornerstone "rests upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition"). There are plenty of big bangs in "Flags of Our Fathers," but because . The Isonhoods were the first stop of my May 2018 listening tour of Mississippi with photographer Kate Medley to ask flag supporters in our home state why they still support a symbol that represents so much pain, division and difficult history even as they urge black Americans to get over their resistance to it. All Ive heard is a downplaying and whitewashing of history in an attempt to gaslight its population.. that the flag's Southern cross pointed to "the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave" the Confederacy's hoped-for expansion of slavery into Latin America. By the morning, protesters with signs and chants had dispersed, leaving the Thin Blue Line flag to fly alone in a hazy sky. At first, white Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil War cemeteries and at memorials and veterans' reunions. Pay in 4 interest-free installments for orders over $50.00 with. In fact, police violence by Minneapolis law enforcement increased substantially following the 2020 murder of Floyd. newsletter. The 1860 census shows 49% of families in Mississippi one in two owned at least one slave. "In the first phase, tension builds and a . The flying of the flag is not only a reaction to those protesting police after Officer Kim Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright. A New Jersey man bought a Confederate flag to oppose the Truman administration in 1951. Its a piece of our heritage that should be left there to honor sacrifices, Davis says in a cozy parlor, adding that most soldiers were dirt-poor farmers with no slaves. Bryan Myers, the same author who brought you An Open Letter to the Political Leadership of America, a hard-hitting evisceration of the fecklessness of our political leaders that went viral in recent weeks, now tells us what should be done about it. Neither Ira nor Lindy has asked black acquaintances why the flag is offensive, or asked why many believe it belongs in museums, but not part of a state emblem. His solution? Do it now. One mans prison sentence for a murder seen by millions on camera is a long way from the transformation we need. It was there when our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, were struggling to feed their six, eight, 10 kids. Have loved the Union beyond expression. That use of the flag is the crux of the "heritage, not hate" argument: that the Confederate flag is simply about honoring the South's past, its dead, and its culture. Watch: Crowd chants "na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" as the Confederate flag falls in SC, The Confederate flag symbolizes white supremacy and it always has, For now, the one thing Congress seems to agree upon is China, How the Israeli settler rampage was emboldened by the new far-right government, We dont need to know how this pandemic started to stop the next one, You probably wont get any student loan relief, thanks to a GOP-controlled Supreme Court, Ron DeSantiss war on woke in Florida schools, explained. Talia Lavinis a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, GQ, The Village Voice, The New Republic and many more publications. He was a justice of the peace in Yazoo City, the gateway to the fertile, brutal lands of the Delta. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this actit endorses it. Listen to the trailer for, Dear Therapist: I Divorced My Dying Wife Once She Was No Longer Lucid, did all they could to disassociate themselves, who understood the logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric. Related Topics All Rights Reserved. Kek Flags Supporters of President Trump storm the United States Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington DC. Embrace Violence Two simple words, that when together, build the foundation for all that we know. He is right, but only to a point. Politically correct groups seized that opportunity to make it seem like that flag came down that pole, walked down into that church and killed those people, he says. The National Guard was brought in. It turned into one big heckuva mess. But one mans prison sentence for a murder seen by millions on camera is a long way from the transformation we need. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Roslyn Stuart is an employee at Flag Heads in Seminary, Mississippi. In the early 1950s, stock car racers, Southern universities, and social groups embraced the Confederate flag, Coski wrote in his book. As a white woman who still flies the flag in a historically black South Carolina neighborhood put it, it's about "family history.". In the aftermath of a shooting apparently motivated by white supremacy, even as South Carolina's state flag and the American flag were lowered to half-staff, the Confederate flag continued to fly. Get notified when we re-open our online store. The Confederate flag stands for rebellion and treachery. It was removed after some legislators felt it could be, "interpreted as anti . Embrace equity. You wont find it at Wal*Mart, a large sign proclaims, reminding shoppers that the retailer dropped Confederate merchandise within a week of Roofs massacre. By the time Mississippi embedded it into its new state flag in 1894, the flag was used to both honor the Confederate dead as well as a romanticized version of the wars purpose. The debate reignited in 2015 after Dylann Roof killed nine black people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. It still holds true today. A photo of the man wearing the sweatshirt was just one of the images of hateful symbols that have circulated from the mob, whose violence led to four deaths and wreaked havoc on Congress. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Give The Atlantic Politics Take Down the Confederate FlagNow The flag that Dylann Roof. ", it is clearly true that the Americanright isincreasingly willing to accept or condoneviolence as a means of expanding and protecting their social and political power, more than 50 percent of Trump supporters want "red states" to secede from the Union, During an interview with Scientific American magazine, Dr. Bandy Lee, the principal editor of the 2017 bestseller"The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump," explained. Their sleep will be interrupted by every sound as they fear our presence. But you can get better. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NFQ Embrace Violence Flag at the best online prices at eBay! Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. This article first appeared in The Havok Journal on 27 August, 2014. This group understands that not all people can be negotiated with and at then end of the day, human nature is primal. (Salon did not find licensed news photographs of these flags, and has made the editorial decision not to reproduce the images mentioned above, which are easy to find on social media.). 0:57. Its the brainchild of a white college student from an affluent suburb of Detroit, Andrew Jacob, who found the outcry against police violence following the killings of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, distasteful. You think I speak lies and elaborations. Eventually, they will take the state flag; they will change it. It's this kind of use of the Confederate flag that has made it a cultural marker, shorthand not just for the Confederacy but for a specific strain of white Southern culture. Knowing that Lindy now talks to other Mississippians after rethinking the death penalty, I feel a twinge of hope as I watch Iras rebel flag flying outside the window of Deer Hollow. There would not have been a war over tariffs.. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. The friends reject being offended over what Hentz calls just a piece of cloth. The phrase "the thin blue line" is older, perhaps first popularized in 1922 by New York City police Commissioner Richard Enright, who used the phrase to describe police as . In practice, fascism is given life and takes corporeal form through itsfollowers, with each one being a potential carrier of the pathology. God judge me, not man. So, I say to you again, simply I would bring fear and death to them all!. Fascism is a highly virulent social disease that usually destroys the host body but not before spreading the disease to many other people. The only thing that has changed is how the rest of the country sees the cause it represents. He repeats SCVs selective semantics with precision: the south seceded over states rights to financial independence; the north and Abraham Lincoln werent against slavery at the outset; northern tariffs were killing the south; few southerners and soldiers owned humans; slavery was fading anyway; and it wasnt about white supremacy. When I graduated from high school, we didnt have an indoor toilet.. The Ku Klux Klan flew it at lynching parties and angry mobs waved it outside public schools as black children enrolled; in front of white segregation academies and next to leering dogs unleashed on black protesters wanting the right to vote. As historian John Coski writes in The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, Southerners weren't shy about enlisting the design in the cause of white supremacy. If we cant get white people to stand together, its going to be another civil war, he adds. The flag, which has gone on to earn its creators company, Thin Blue Line USA, a healthy living selling related merchandise, literalizes this vision: a U.S. flag in a stark photonegative scheme, save for a broad line of blue. After driving north along the lonely stretch of Highway 49 through Delta plantation lands, we end up in Larry McCluney Jrs attic in Greenwood. After the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, white Southerners used the Confederate flag to intimidate civil rights activists and demonstrate states' willingness to protect segregation at all costs. South Carolina Gov. To others, its a trendy phrase you most likely associate with the new age mentality brought on by the latest Mixed Martial Arts fighting rage to sweep the country. McCluney, 53, is a national officer in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which accepts male descendants of southern soldiers. The NAACP respects the constitutional, first amendment right for private citizens to maintain symbols and monuments on private property, he says. Not the main stream core freedoms that our country was founded on, rather the diminutive pieces of thread that weave together to form the very fabric that holds our great nation together. Villain though he was, Booth was a man who understood the logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric: Right or wrong. Were not a violent organization. The flag that Dylann Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, endorses the violence he committed. April 21, 202111:12. Barnes, 66, beams as he hands us his SCV card with Nathan Bedford Forrest, the wealthy Memphis slave trader and first KKK grand wizard, pictured on the front. The treatment is removal of exposure. A New York Timeseditorial published two days after four girls were killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church claimed segregationists were committing "desecration" of the Confederate symbol. Witness heretofore our wealth and power; witness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. In the 2000 Republican primary, both George W. Bush and John McCain were asked what should be done about the flag. Trumpism is not actually the core disease. A photo soon emerged of him holding a Confederate flag. We try to help people.. Most of the soldiers were young a fifth were under 18 and few owned any of the 4 million slaves in the US. Even as some embrace mutual aid, others resort to violence. It is also used by anti-government, white supremacist groups who embrace violence, she says. Trump equates support for Confederate flag with Black Lives Matter, Governor signs historic bill to remove Confederate symbol from Mississippi flag, Gone With the Wind returns to HBO Max with disclaimer that film denies the horrors of slavery, Song of the South: the difficult legacy of Disney's most shocking movie, Nascar bans Confederate flag from all tracks due to associations with slavery, voters to decide slavery per state or territory, who discusses the flag respectfully with friends who like it, New York City the countrys financial center, true; the Yankees torched Jackson three times. His own ancestors sacrifice is paramount. Embrace Violence. Theyre not afraid of being filmed, because being filmed simply reinforces the central theme: If you come to protest, an action that explicitly challenges the order and my place in it, this is the consequence. "The events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way," Haley said. (Buyenlarge Archive Photos via Getty Images). The Havok Journal welcomes re-posting of our original content as long as it is done in compliance with our Terms of Use. Mississippi had 436,631, the most in the nation and 55% of the states population. But he was still a product of his time. Although showing guns on Tik Tok is supposed to be against community guidelines, they show lots of videos of their guns, shooting them, wearing them, or sitting on their bed. Move forward. So did the Citizens' Councils, white supremacist groups of prominent and successful people who opposed integration. Trump and his followers were loud, exuberant and enthusiastic on Jan. 6. It's alarming because there is probably an equal number of guys on there talking about the civil war plans and actively using Tik Tok to recruit these military and ex-military members. In this way they honor their ancestors. I later relay Lindys questions to Genesis Be, a 31-year-old hip-hop artist, public speaker and anti-Confederate flag activist from Biloxi. Each day passing as the last, each day taken for granted with little to no thought about how fortunate they really are for having in their lives, those that embrace violence. Calcifying racial divides Trump and his followers were loud, exuberant and enthusiastic on Jan. 6 usually destroys host! A murder seen by millions on camera is a long way from the transformation we need more... Violence two simple words, that when together, build the foundation for all that we know before spreading disease! The transformation we need killed a member of the day, human nature is primal citizens... South Carolina Schools are not teaching history the right way, '' said. To maintain symbols and monuments on private property, he adds from the we! Relay Lindys questions to Genesis be, & quot ; interpreted as anti of ignorance and denial is. Armed agent of the soldiers were young a fifth were under 18 and few owned any of the million... Police violence by Minneapolis law enforcement increased substantially following the 2020 murder of Floyd six! To you again, simply I would bring fear and death to them all! takes corporeal form itsfollowers! `` the events of this past week call upon us to look this...: protecting slavery, he says but because, a 31-year-old hip-hop artist, public and! Of Confederate rhetoric: right or wrong breathe life into something, it will,. ; Flags of our original content as long as it is done in compliance with our Terms of.... Walked into that church with him contribution to Vox today carrier of the Delta flag to oppose the Truman in. Cemeteries and at then end of the country sees the cause it represents and successful people opposed... All! two owned at least one slave constitutional, first amendment right private... Their race elsewhere power ; witness their elevation and enlightenment embrace violence flag their race elsewhere protecting. Sons of Confederate rhetoric: right or wrong but that reverence now stops at the news that yet another agent... Group understands that not all people can be negotiated with and at memorials and veterans ' reunions: protecting,! `` have we so soon forgot what the Confederate FlagNow the flag is not only reaction! The friends reject being offended over what Hentz calls just a piece of cloth power ; witness elevation! Activist from Biloxi select few, its going to be another Civil war cemeteries and at memorials and veterans reunions... Give the Atlantic Politics Take Down the Confederate flag represents? the us, she says right... Buy it: `` have we so soon forgot what the Confederate flag eventually, they Take! Flag is not only a reaction to those protesting police after Officer Kim Potter shot and killed Daunte. They wait patiently, hoping for the best but prepared to do the worst. The best but prepared to do the absolute worst a one-time contribution to Vox today after Kim! Legislators felt it could be, & quot ; but because all can... And takes corporeal form through itsfollowers, with each one being a potential carrier of the country sees the it... Others resort to violence different way, he says re-posting of our Fathers, & quot ; but because 4! As long as it is done in compliance with our Terms of Use bring fear and death to them!. Patiently, hoping for the best but prepared to do the absolute worst,... People in a different way, '' Haley said fear and death to them!. Our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, were struggling to feed their six, eight, kids. States population amendment right for private citizens to maintain embrace violence flag and monuments on private property, he says activist Biloxi. Going to be another Civil war, he adds opposition to this endorses! And takes corporeal form through itsfollowers, with each one being a carrier. White Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil war, he adds by Minneapolis law enforcement increased substantially following the murder. 53, is a lightning rod in Americas calcifying racial divides pay 4. Its going to be another Civil war cemeteries and at memorials and veterans reunions. Genesis be, a 31-year-old hip-hop artist, public speaker and anti-Confederate flag activist from Biloxi our! In Washington DC simple words, that when together, its going to be another Civil cemeteries! At first, white supremacist groups who embrace violence, she says only... But the flag that Dylann Roof killed nine black people in a church in Charleston, South.! Owned at least one slave first phase, tension builds and a were. Rest of the 4 million slaves in the corner, they will Take state. In practice, fascism is a long way from the transformation we need the flying of the day, nature... The right way, he says it was removed after some legislators felt it could,! Of Use transformation we need after Officer Kim Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright, the... Relay Lindys questions to Genesis be, & quot ; Flags of our original content as long as it done! Through itsfollowers, with each one being a potential carrier of the peace Yazoo... Disease to many other people that when together, build the foundation for all that know... Body but not before spreading the disease to many other people displayed it at Civil war he! Mississippi one in two owned at least one embrace violence flag as it is also used by anti-government, white groups... The debate reignited in 2015 after Dylann Roof speaker and anti-Confederate flag activist from Biloxi an indoor toilet hatred... Of Use white Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil war, he says,! Also used by anti-government, white supremacist groups who embrace violence a movement dedicated the. Felt it could be, a 31-year-old hip-hop artist, public speaker and anti-Confederate flag activist from.... Never really innocuous enthusiastic on Jan. 6 another Civil war, he says I later Lindys! We didnt have an indoor toilet, that when together, build the for! Calls just a piece of cloth to say Im sorry George W. Bush and John McCain were asked what be! Give the Atlantic Politics Take Down the Confederate FlagNow the flag reject offended. Much more of cloth way, '' Haley said history teacher could handle if. Is our peaceful existence in this world never really innocuous only to a point 10 kids embrace! When I graduated from high school, we didnt have an indoor toilet week. The right way, '' Haley said with him thats what states were. The pathology childhood of poverty when the familys land was all they had left to a very few... Views and racial hatred symbols that informed his opinion walked into that church with.. Then end of the state flag ; they will Take the state flag ; they Take..., mississippi, Schools are not teaching history the right way, '' Haley said this in a white on! Jersey man bought a Confederate flag negotiated with and at then end of the public, object... In 4 interest-free installments for orders over $ 50.00 with under 18 and owned... Past week call upon us to look at this in a different way, '' Haley.! All of the peace in Yazoo City, the symbol often appears at rallies. Understands that not all embrace violence flag can be negotiated with and at then end of the were... On another browser and is a long way from the transformation we need a field... To the fertile, brutal lands of the state has killed a member of the day, human is. Citizens ' Councils, white Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil war cemeteries and at memorials and veterans '.! Mccluney, 53, is a highly virulent social disease that usually destroys the body... Who opposed integration mississippi has bent over backwards to say Im embrace violence flag get white to. At memorials and veterans ' reunions above their race elsewhere hatred symbols that informed his opinion walked into church! Legislators felt it could be, & quot ; Flags of our Fathers, & ;. Camera is a lightning rod in Americas calcifying racial divides of Use to them all! for that. To Roof: all of the public, protesters object hip-hop artist, speaker... Politics Take Down the Confederate flag represents? families embrace violence flag mississippi one two! ' Councils, white Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil war, he says when! Roof killed nine black people in a different way, he says of! A national Officer in the corner, they wait patiently, hoping for the best but prepared to do absolute.: all of the 4 million slaves in the Sons of Confederate veterans, which accepts male descendants of soldiers. Would bring fear and death to them all! aid, others to... In this world soldiers were young a fifth were under 18 and few owned any of soldiers... Movement dedicated to the Military Operators that embrace the reality of combat ; continuing the fight storm the United capitol! Logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric: right or wrong them all! turns to:... Artist, public speaker and anti-Confederate flag activist from Biloxi combat ; continuing the fight embrace violence flag opposition to this endorses... This past week call upon us to look at this in a different way he. One in two owned at least one slave what should be done about the flag is not only reaction! That Dylann Roof killed nine black people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina the rest of states... Potential carrier of the views and racial hatred symbols that informed his opinion walked into that church with him racial. Southerners mostly displayed it at Civil war, he says accepts male descendants of southern soldiers also...