Confederate Flag Controversy Essay

The Controversy of the Confederate Flag Does it represent slavery and oppression, or is it simply just a symbol of some people’s heritage? This is a wide controversy many people are talking about even today about the Confederate Flag. Society is trying to decide if it is disrespectful or not. Many people say it is disrespectful because the flag was used in times of slavery, whereas the other side believes the flag is just a part of their heritage. The Confederate Flag should not be removed from history and should be able to be flown without fear of people feeling that you are racist for flying it. It represents the Confederacy in the civil war, where many soldiers died. It is a part of Southern heritage, and it should not be associated simply with the evil of slavery. The Confederate Flag was first adopted on March 4, 1861 (U.S. flag.org). The flag represents a historic time in our history. The Civil War was America’s deadliest war, an estimated 620,000 men died during the war (Tylt). The people of this time all felt that they were fighting for what they thought was right, they died for their country. Many people today feel that flying the Confederate flag honors the men who sacrificed their …show more content…
White supremacist groups like Ku Klux Klan and Naxi began to adopt the Confederate battle flag as a symbol for their cause because the flag was used during the time of slavery (Collegiate Times). These groups were using the flag to symbolize hate against African Americans and consequently were not providing the true meaning of the flag. African Americans were unfairly targeted by these groups only because of the color of the skin. Since the flag was the symbol for their cause, the flag was now viewed as a symbol for hate. People began to see The Confederate Flag as a sign of oppression on African Americans and brought them back to a dark time in our history when they were