Brittany Bree Newsome, a courageous African-American woman, pulled down the Confederate flag after it was raised again following the memorial to the victims of the racist murders in Charleston, South Carolina. President Obama spoke at the memorial and eloquently called for the removal of the confederate flag. I doubt they would have dared arrest the President for taking the flag down, but of course it was not flown then. A national movement is developing rapidly to both Free Bree, who is the cousin of my longtime colleague and dear friend, Professor Carolyn Brown, a scholar and teacher of African History, and also to take down the Confederate flag, the symbol of a government for, by and of slaveholders
As these events unfolded, I thought of the 1936 Berlin Nazi Olympics, where the Hitler government took down its national chauvinist and anti-Jewish racist posters and banners for the Olympic tourists and the games but then put them back up again afterwards. Anyyone who tore down one of those posters then or the Swastika would have been put a concentration camp or worse, But those symbols were banned and remain banned in postwar Germany. The idea that let us say a state like Bavaria, an old Nazi stronghold, would have the "right" to fly the Swastika for either sentimental or states rights reasons would be an absurd horror in Germany today. The individuals who raised the Swastika would be arrested, not the individuals who tore the Swastika down.
I urge everyone to support the Color of Change petition below and send it far and wide. President Obama's words can and must be accompanied by action.in The Confederate flag flies in many places in the former slave states. It is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that it flies now where and that Americans learn of the sordid history it represents, slavery, secession, and the bloodiest war ever fought in North America
Norman Markowitz
Below I have cut and pasted the Color of Change Petition on the campaign. Please sign it and send it to others who will sign and it disseminate it
Early this morning, a multiracial group of Carolinians led by teachers and activists took down the Confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol grounds — within an hour the state had raised the hateful banner once again in time for an 11 A.M. white supremacist rally.
Bree, the Black woman who climbed the pole and cut down the flag, was arrested and taken into custody by Capitol Police. She should be promptly released from jail, any charges should be dropped, and the legislature should immediately vote to permanently remove the flag.
According to a statement from the activists they took down the flag because:
"We could not sit by and watch the victims of the Charleston Massacre be laid to rest while the inspiration for their deaths continue to fly above their caskets."
The Confederate flag was born out of a government defending the enslavement of Black people and resurrected as an emblem for whites violently opposing racial integration. Any government that recognizes the flag is declaring that it cherishes a history of racial terror.
Taking down the flag is just one step but one that strikes a blow at the visible symbol of white supremacy. Make no mistake about it, however, racism isn't just a flag or words it's baked into our economy and inequities in our democracy and criminal justice system.
In Bree's own words:
"It's time for a new chapter where we are sincere about dismantling white supremacy and building toward true racial justice and equality."
South Carolina officials have sided with white supremacists in choosing to restore the flag before a planned rally. The legislature must immediately vote to permanently remove the Confederate flag from the capitol and all state buildings.
Thanks and peace,
Rashad, Arisha, Hope, Brandi, Brittaney, Johnny and the entire ColorOfChange.org team
