GUEST EDITORIAL: Black athletes should say no to Confederate flag waving crowds

When I was 5 years old, all of my friends watched the television show "the Dukes of Hazzard." I wanted to watch it, too, but we weren't allowed to do that in my house because of the Confederate flag that was painted on the car in the show.

At 5, I learned that the Confederate flag represented white domination of Black people. I learned that the KKK, the Aryan Nation, the skinheads, the American Nazi Party and 500 other extremist groups use this as their emblem. I learned to see the Confederate flag as the symbol of hate that it was meant to represent, and learned that the pride that Southern white folks say the flag stands for has nothing to do with fair treatment of Black people.

When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, racist white folks waved that flag! When Black men and women were hanged from trees and torched for the amusement of Southern white folks, that flag was waved. The Confederate flag is just another way for the racists to call Black people "ni***r." The swastika was a symbol of peace before it was a Nazi symbol. When you see one now, what comes to mind? Is it something you would wear on a T-shirt?

Fans of Louisiana State University have been waving purple-and-gold versions of the Confederate flag at sporting events. They're saying that their motives are not racist and that they are merely trying to represent their Southern heritage.

Maybe, for many, the Confederate flag is a symbol of Southern history and a proud heritage. That history and heritage, however, includes the brutal enslavement and degradation of Black people in America.

I just can't see how anyone who knows the history of this flag and who understands the racial hatred that it represents can still wave it proudly. I can't see how Black students at LSU can tolerate white students waving this flag in their faces at events.

I understand that Black people make up 80 percent of the athletic community at LSU. (On the national championship billboard outside the LSU stadium that shows several white hands reaching for a trophy, not one Black hand is shown. Hmmm.)

I can't see how all of those Black athletes can represent on the field and on the court while those white fans sit in the stands waving symbols of hatred at them.

It's like the people with those flags are saying, "RUN N****R, RUN! CHASE THE BALL, N****R! DUNK THE BALL, N****R, DUNK IT! IN HIS FACE N****R, IN HIS FACE!"

If I were an athlete at LSU, I wouldn't play for a crowd of people calling me "nigger." They're not worried about that over there, though. They're too busy chasin' balls for "massuh."

A.J. Griffith is a student at Southern University who is opinions editor for the Southern Digest. This article is courtesy of BlackCollegeWire.org.

I wonder if A.J. Griffith is a democrat?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1383873/posts
Court Decides Reparations Suit Against Democrats

Posted on 04/14/2005 5:54:05 PM EDT by JulieRNR21

Court Decides Reparations Suit Against Democrats By Frances Rice

The U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington issued a historic ruling in the landmark Reparations lawsuit (Case No. CV04-2442) filed against the Democratic Party by Rev. Wayne Perryman, author of the book entitled Unfounded Loyalty: An In-depth look into the Love Affair Between Blacks and Democrats.

Reacting to the court's decision, Rev. Perryman, who will be the keynote speaker at the June 11, 2005 Empowerment Award Luncheon sponsored by the SaraMana Black Republican Club at the Sarasota Hyatt at 11:30 AM, thanked his supporters and said: "This case will become a permanent part of the United States Federal Judicial archives for years to come."

Rev. Perryman said that he filed the 180-page Reparations lawsuit for two primary reasons: (1) To obtain redress for the crimes committed against African Americans by the Democratic Party and (2) To officially file a formal case against the Democratic Party as a permanent historic record.

(snip)

Reality....
The war was originally started by the north to preserve the union. Lincoln believed that states did not have the right to disolve a union they freely entered. I personally believe he was incorrect.

The first official mention of slavery as a reason for the conflict was in 1863 when Licoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which did not actually free anybody at the time.

Lincoln was the greatest President only if you believe in the absolute power of the Federal Government to enforce whatever interpretation of law fits it's purposes. To say that the outcome of that conflict does not impact Americans today is misleading at best.

I personally like to call it the "War of Northern Agression" because that more accurately describes the cause and nature of the conflict.

It is a done deal and we do have one country now, but I still like to keep facts straight. Perhaps being in the military for 20+ years caused me to value facts over opinions.

Thank you...well said....here's some more good thoughts:

Forrest's Final Address To His Troops

Confederate Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating To Operations In Kentucky, Southwestern Virginia, Tennessee, Northern And Central Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, And West Florida, From March 16 To June 30, 1865.--#8
O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIX/2 [S# 104]

HEADQUARTERS FORREST'S CAVALRY CORPS,
Gainesville, Ala., May 9, 1865.

SOLDIERS: By an agreement made between Lieutenant-General Taylor, commanding the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and Major-General Canby, commanding U.S. forces, the troops of this department have been surrendered. I do not think it proper or necessary at this time to refer to the causes which have reduced us to this extremity, nor is it now a matter of material consequence to us how such results were brought about. That we are beaten is a self-evident fact, and any further resistance on our part would be justly regarded as the very height of folly and rashness. The armies of Generals Lee and Johnston having surrendered, you are the last of all the troops of the C. S. Army east of the Mississippi River to lay down your arms. The cause for which you have so long and so manfully struggled, and for which you have braved dangers, endured privations and sufferings, and made so many sacrifices, is to-day hopeless. The Government which we sought to establish and perpetuate is at an end. Reason dictates and humanity demands that no more blood be shed. Fully realizing and feeling that such is the case, it is your duty and mine to lay down our arms, submit to the "powers that be," and to aid in restoring peace and establishing law and order throughout the land. The terms upon which you were surrendered are favorable, and should be satisfactory and acceptable to all. They manifest a spirit of magnanimity and liberality on the part of the Federal authorities which should be met on our part by a faithful compliance with all the stipulations and conditions therein expressed. As your commander, I sincerely hope that every officer and soldier of my command will cheerfully obey the orders given and carry out in good faith all the terms of the cartel.
Those who neglect the terms and refuse to be paroled may assuredly expect when arrested to be sent North and imprisoned. Let those who are absent from their commands, from whatever cause, report at once to this place or to Jackson, Miss.; or, if too remote from either, to the nearest U.S. post or garrison for parole. Civil war, such as you have just passed through, naturally engenders feelings of animosity, hatred, and revenge. It is our duty to divest ourselves of all such feelings, and so far as in our power to do so to cultivate friendly feelings toward those with whom we have so long contested and heretofore so widely but honestly differed. Neighborhood feuds, personal animosities, and private differences should be blotted out, and when you return home a manly, straightforward course of conduct will secure the respect even of your enemies. Whatever your responsibilities may be to Government, to society, or to individuals, meet them like men. The attempt made to establish a separate and independent confederation has failed, but the consciousness of having done your duty faithfully and to the end will in some measure repay for the hardships you have undergone. In bidding you farewell, rest assured that you carry with you my best wishes for your future welfare and happiness. Without in any way referring to the merits of the cause in which we have been engaged, your courage and determination as exhibited on many hard-fought fields has elicited the respect and admiration of friend and foe. And I now cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command, whose zeal, fidelity, and unflinching bravery have been the great source of my past success in arms. I have never on the field of battle sent you where I was unwilling to go myself, nor would I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue. You have been good soldiers, you can be good citizens. Obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the Government to which you have surrendered can afford to be and will be magnanimous.
-- N. B. FORREST,
Lieutenant-General

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