AS DIVERSITY becomes a more and more prevalent buzzword and colleges and universities seek to encourage minority enrollment, we like to think that we are moving away from racial tension and conflict toward a more tolerant society. But even as scholars attempt to remove the often hurtful innuendo surrounding Thomas Jefferson's relationship with slave Sally Hemings, the state of Mississippi clearly has shown, by popular referendum, that the nation is not ready to move past its racially oppressive heritage.
Earlier this week the people of Mississippi voted to keep their present state flag, which contains the Confederate cross, with nearly 65 percent of voters opposing the proposed change. The people have spoken, and the state would be remiss to disregard the vote and change the flag now. However, it is sad that more than 130 years after the Civil War, the people of Mississippi are unable to let go of such a hateful emblem.
There are those who argue that the Confederate battle flag, a blue cross with thirteen stars, is not a symbol of slavery, but representative of Southern heritage. They say that it is possible and necessary to honor their heritage. They're right. It is important to remember the past. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, who strongly opposed changing the flag, have every right to pay tribute to those who fought in the Civil War. Those men were fighting for a cause they believed in, and one which is much greater than slavery.
However, the rebel cross has now, thanks to the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups, become a symbol of white supremacy. Beyond the institution of slavery, the flag has been used as a symbol and rallying cry for other forms of oppression and segregation. The Confederate flag was flown over the state capitol in Alabama in 1963 to protest Kennedy's desegregation of public schools; it was not removed until 1993. South Carolina also had been flying the Confederate flag since 1962 and only removed it last July.
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While the Civil War was fought over more than slavery, and the flag represents much more than that to many who display it, it has become an emblem of oppression and intolerance. It is unacceptable for a state to support such ideas, even if the flag does not serve as an official endorsement of white supremacy. Flying the rebel cross over the state capitol potentially alienates many minority citizens, blacks in particular, whose ancestry is not celebrated by "Southern culture." The flag encourages feelings of exclusivity and disenfranchisement, which should be of particular concern in areas where minority voter turnout is already an issue.
Abandoning the Confederate flag does not necessarily mean abandoning the state's past and heritage. The newly proposed flag would have replaced the rebel cross in the upper left corner of the flag with a circle of stars. The twenty stars would represent the various nations and Native American tribes that have held dominion over Mississippi throughout its history. In this way, all of the state's heritage would have been recognized, rather than one contentious era of the state's history.
For those Mississippi voters for whom the possibility of alienating and offending a significant amount of the population isn't reason enough to lower the flag, there also are economic reasons to abandon the cross. When South Carolina refused to lower the flag from its capitol building, the NAACP imposed economic boycotts in that state. Such boycotts also could be imposed in Mississippi; as yet, the state's NAACP chapter has not decided whether or not they will call for such measures.
More significantly, flying the rebel flag above the capitol projects to the rest of the nation an intolerant attitude and a resistance to change. This could discourage private citizens and business from moving into the area. This, too, could damage Mississippi's economic growth.
The Confederate flag should not be outlawed; private citizens are free to fly it anywhere they see fit. However, Mississippi's refusal to stop its use as a state symbol indicates a resistance to acknowledging the mistakes of the past. It is a failure to recognize the evils that the flag, intentionally or not, has come to symbolize for many people, both black and white.
The flag represents a state and, by extension, a region and a country which is not ready to embrace tolerance and equality. Mississippi's insistence on holding on to the past is insensitive, counter-productive and sad, as it is representative of the on-going racial tension and conflict in this country.
(Megan Moyer's column appears Fridays in TheCavalier Daily. She can be reached at mmoyer@cavalierdaily.com.)
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