Confederate Flag

The Confederate flag is something that's always been controversial but it seems to be more of a hot topic now.  First things first, the "confederate flag" was never the flag of the Confederate States of America.  It was the battle flag of several confederate armies.

©CGP Grey

The Confederate States of America, the CSA, were the breakaway states, i.e., the South, during the American Civil War.  The CSA included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky.

Many Southerns associate this flag with Southern heritage.  That is if you're white.  If you're black then this Southern heritage is one of racism, slavery, segregation and white supremacy.  I don't get how any patriotic American can proudly celebrate the flag that is associated with the sedition of the U.S. government, the loss of over 620,000 lives, tremendous devastation, and the subjugation of other races.

©TestTube News

When I moved to Atlanta in 1996 I absolutely hated the state flag.  In 1956, Georgia changed its flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag.  This was done as a protest to civil rights and specifically to the Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case that ruled against segregation.

In the U.S., we talk about segregation but we should call it what it was which is apartheid.  To me the Georgia flag was racist and I cringed a bit every time I saw one.

In 2001, new governor changed the flag.  It wasn't a popular flag.  I didn't care for how the new flag looked but it was significantly better than the old one.  This flag only lasted for two years until 2003 when it was changed for the new flag.

The new, new flag has been Georgia's state flag since 2003.  To me it's way better than the previous two versions.  

Timeline of Georgia Stage Flags

    

The Confederate flag is racist.  There's a reason why it always shows up at KKK and white supremacy gatherings.  

I remember being caught completely off guard in 2011 when I saw a hot dog truck in Brno with a confederate flag.  Needless to say but I never purchased a hot dog from here.