North Carolina activist Bree Newsome made history on June 27, 2015 when she ripped down the Confederate flag which had flown in front of the? South Carolina State House in the capital city of Columbia since 1961.
Newsome decided that she had enough of seeing a symbol of racism and division being flown by her state government, so she took action, hopefully inspiring people to speak up and make their voices heard as well.
I’m sure many conservatives will angrily say she was just being a criminal, and that her actions were nothing short of vandalism of government property, however, many people who understand the divisive history of intolerance behind every version of the confederate flag, see this woman as an inspiration and an American hero.
I fully expect some people to claim that she was being intolerant by doing what she did. To that I say YOU’RE DAMNED RIGHT!
Blacks in places like North Carolina, Mississippi, and several other states, have had to tolerate this symbol of division and hatred since the Civil War, but in the 1940s racists dug up a version of the Confederate flag specifically to protest desegregation and anti-lynching laws. Yes, they were actually pissed off that the federal government wanted to pass laws that made lynching illegal!
Blacks continue to be “tolerant” when they experience acts of violence against them. In Charleston instead of taking to the streets seeking blood, they took the the streets and churches seeking prayer. While seeking prayer may soothe the spirit, I doesn’t change the laws any more than violence will. Taking action and seeking justice, like Newsome has done, and Rosa Parks before her, is what will bring about social change.
This brave woman decided enough is enough and took matters into her own hands in a non-violent way. Sometimes it takes acts of civil disobedience like this to shock the general public out of it’s complacency and apathy. Personally I hope more people do what she did, and make it very hard for any state to continue to support this symbol.
The other day I was telling my friend, who plays in a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, that I have nothing against people who support the Confederate flag. I’ve known lots of southern people who support it and who were not racists, but it’s time that people like my friend realize that this flag represents a heritage steeped in racism; one that would still see me and my people in chains today if it were up to them. I mean, what if German kids decided to wear Nazi flags 50 years from now claiming it’s “heritage, not hate?”
I take my hat off to inspiring people like Bree Newsome. I think history will remember her kindly, because time and time again, conservatives are siding on the wrong side of history.
Here’s the video, followed by an original poem from my mother about this brave American hero.
“FLAG LADY”
No – She’s not crazy
she courageous
No – She’s not afraid she’s brave
No – She didn’t curse she recited
Jesus verses!!!
No – She didn’t resist arrest her actions
were our protest!!!
No – She wasn’t alone, millions wished they
could have taken her Place
Yes – We’re proud because her actions speaks
louder than words
Yes – She’s a “Hero” in every sense of the word
she spoke for the future of many little boys and girls
Yes – Martin, Malcolm , Kennedy , Rev / Senator Pinckney
and those other “8 Precious Souls” May They R.I.P, They’re
Singing Your Praise! This Was A Good Day!!!
We Saw – “Human Beings” do something right we saw black
and white in a different light, we saw them unite!!!
Brittany Newsome – In Our Hearts You Are Welcomed!!!
James Tyson – Thanks For Being Righteous!!!
Yes – I’m Proud With, No, If’s Whats Or Maybe’s, Of That Brave
“Flag Lady” Who Took Down That Racist Confederate Flag
Thank You Again, Again And Again, You Gave Those Of Us Who
Know Right From Wrong A “WIN”
“Poem By: “Tina Marie” Clark
Copyright: 2015/6/27
All Right’s Reserved/
