Confederate Flag Coming to Hillsborough, Florida

June 9th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Did you know that once, the United States had a war within itself? Yeah, the United States of America had a Civil War. We even called it The Civil War. It is apart of our history, the very fabric of our society.

The South broke away because the very fabric of their economy was being threatened. Slaves. Human Capitol. The funny thing, they lost. Slavery was abolished and we’ve spent the last hundred plus years trying to heal from that.

How do you heal if you try to erase the memory, instead of excepting and moving on?

In Hillsborough County Florida, The Sons of Confederate Veterans have plans to erect a 30×50 foot Confederate Flag on a 139 foot pole, the highest allowed, on private property on a busy highway intersection.

The group says the flag is not a racist statement but a piece of history. Most local businesses don’t find it offensive, but are worried about their customers.

Imagine so one telling a black organization, that they couldn’t erect a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. It wouldn’t happen. Robert E. Lee has memorials in my home town, Richmond Va. I took until my adulthood to realize I was standing on history.

I lived in a city where battle plans were made, soliders gathered and watched over each other, and decisive clashes took place. That’s history. It can not be changed or altered, nor should it be ignored.

I don’t care if you fly the Confederate Flag. I will assume you have racist beliefs. I will hold you accountable for my assumptions. I might be wrong, but it’s what you choose to show me. So if I was one of those shop owners, I would be worried.

I wouldn’t shop in the area because you were NOT offended. Because you did not stand up and say, we can find another way to honor the Confederate Soldiers, just because of the implication.

Local NAACP President Curtis Stokes was outraged the commissoner would allow the project to be completed. It’s your community. Instead of fighting the flag, use it for encouragement.

Ask them why they feel the group needs to make the flag so big? Tell them it’s because they are irrelvant in today’s society. It’s because they lost and because of it there is nothing that can stop you from one day having a statue raised of yourself for curing cancer or eliminating the national debt.

Choose the message carefully. Don’t tell our black people this is a sign of racism. Tell them that this is a sign that the racist are losing. Teach them about overcompensation, then maybe they won’t be so pressed to hustle for a hummer.

So I say raise the flag, watch the ecomony in the area decline, and realize that America isn’t as racist as we are thoughtful. We don’t mind you honoring our history, because it’s not just yours, but you should be sensitive in your praise.