Not Your heritage, but OUR Heritage

I wrote a comment (well more of a rant), about the Confederate Flag on my Facebook page.   Some said it was well written, so I decided to add it to my blog.  It was in response to Ben Carson’s original statement and the flag and what it represents as a whole.   Here is my statement, with some corrections. 

I think that Ben Carson may have a brain tumor.  Well at least something is wrong with him.  He believes that there should be a discussion on whether the Confederate flag should fly in South Carolina, because of its Southern history.  We should find a way to coexist.  I find it funny that people don't realize that it has historical importance to both blacks and whites.  It is just that one group is standing up proud with the foot on the neck of the other group.  There are no proud memories for the group who lies between the foot and the ground.   What annoys me the most is that people who love this flag act like that they were going to separate from the Union without their slaves.  Or, they ignore the fact that slaves fought on the Confederate side, some willingly and many not.

It boggles me that when I hear defenders talk about the flag.   You hear the statements about “our heritage” or “our pride” meaning southern white heritage or pride.  I am always amazed that the defenders are capable of talking about the South or and the great soldiers and generals of the Confederate, yet, ignore blacks altogether.  Blacks did not fight on the Confederate side until near the end of the war.   But, you almost have to be an ignorant fool to believe that they were not there as slaves and they did not support the war effort on both sides. 

One of the most respected and revered Generals, (not just the Confederate) Robert E. Lee grew up on a plantation with slaves.   His parents may have run the plantation; however the actual maintenance was performed by slaves.  In the civil war, the soldiers were white, but running and maintaining a military takes a lot more than soldiers.  Someone has to grow and harvest the food that they eat.   Equipment and weapons had to be created and maintained.   Also, someone had to take care of the horses.   And, of course there was other manual labor that needed to be performed.  The majority of that work was performed by slave labor.  If the Confederate military had no food, no clothing and no equipment, the Union military would have won a lot faster. 

My point is that flag represents a lot more that people seem to claim.   It represents the United States of America’s Southern history both Caucasian and African American, equally.   As I said in my Facebook statement, the flag has “…historical importance to both blacks and whites.  It is just that one group is standing up proud with the foot on the neck of the other group.  There are no proud memories for the group who lies between the foot and the ground.”  And, they should equally have a say on whether or not it remains on State property or in a museum.   

In a way, it is kind of funny, the argument is often heard, “you have Black or African American history, why can’t we have ours?”   But, Black history was not created because we (Negros, Blacks, or African Americans) needed our own; it was created, because American historians pretended like we weren’t there.  We were just hanging out in the background, instead of the ones who helped build this nation and performed a large majority of the free labor.   The quote “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” has and should have a profoundly different meaning for the ancestors of slaves.