On this page I will be posting articles on various topics throughout the course.
You may click 'edit' and add your own contributions below.
You may click and drag any hyperlink into the edit window or use the buttons above.
The confederate flag has a strong presence all across the country. While this has been true for years, recently many are criticizing the flag's continued presence in many official (and unofficial) locations.
Below are two images to consider.
South Carolina Senate Building
For the past 15 years Clementa C. Pinckney, the now-deceased pastor of Emanuel AME church, walked past that flag every day as a South Carolina senator. What's more, he likely saw it on bumper stickers, in windows, and hanging proudly on many people's houses all over the south and beyond. Those who fly the Confederate flag argue that it is a symbol of "heritage not hate." Tim Wise, in his just-published article entitled Heritage of Hate: Dylann Roof, White Supremacy and the Truth About the Confederacy, suggests,
That anyone could still believe such things is testament to the broken and utterly pathetic state of American education. Much as some apparently don’t wish to believe Roof was motivated by racism and white supremacy, even as he said so from his own mouth before slaughtering nine people, many white folks appear incapable of trusting the very words uttered at the time of secession by Confederate leaders, all of which make clear that enslavement and white domination were not only the biggest reasons for their breakaway government but indeed the only ones.
It’s as if we shouldn’t take at face value the words of Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens, even as he explained in clear language that his government’s “foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition.”
But, we tell ourselves reassuringly, the South lost and the slaves were freed. We should remember that first citizenship law in America, the Naturalization Act of 1790 "excluded American Indians, indentured servants, slaves, free blacks, and Asians." And it wasn't until 80 years later that the Naturalization Act of 1870 allow "aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent" to become citizens (but in a very limited sense). It wouldn't be until the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943 that Asians were allowed to become citizens.
Also important to remember is that the even as these laws were passed, the post-Civil War era of Jim Crow was just beginning. These laws would institutionalize racism in laws and business practices across the country until the end of legally accepted (de jure) racism in the 1960s.
What are some of the questions we might ask about the continued presence of the Confederate flag?
How does this history offer context on recent events?
*For the record, my position is reflected by this article, where the author argues that the term 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' does not refer to a clear and definable thing, but rather it serves specific political ends. At the same time, this should not be a reason to allow the growing threat of white and right-wing extremist violence to go unanalyzed.
Welcome to the real-time media sharing page.
On this page I will be posting articles on various topics throughout the course.You may click 'edit' and add your own contributions below.
You may click and drag any hyperlink into the edit window or use the buttons above.
Table of Contents
Native American History:
Charleston Church Massacre:
The confederate flag has a strong presence all across the country. While this has been true for years, recently many are criticizing the flag's continued presence in many official (and unofficial) locations.Below are two images to consider.
For the past 15 years Clementa C. Pinckney, the now-deceased pastor of Emanuel AME church, walked past that flag every day as a South Carolina senator. What's more, he likely saw it on bumper stickers, in windows, and hanging proudly on many people's houses all over the south and beyond. Those who fly the Confederate flag argue that it is a symbol of "heritage not hate." Tim Wise, in his just-published article entitled Heritage of Hate: Dylann Roof, White Supremacy and the Truth About the Confederacy, suggests,
That anyone could still believe such things is testament to the broken and utterly pathetic state of American education. Much as some apparently don’t wish to believe Roof was motivated by racism and white supremacy, even as he said so from his own mouth before slaughtering nine people, many white folks appear incapable of trusting the very words uttered at the time of secession by Confederate leaders, all of which make clear that enslavement and white domination were not only the biggest reasons for their breakaway government but indeed the only ones.
It’s as if we shouldn’t take at face value the words of Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens, even as he explained in clear language that his government’s “foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition.”
But, we tell ourselves reassuringly, the South lost and the slaves were freed. We should remember that first citizenship law in America, the Naturalization Act of 1790 "excluded American Indians, indentured servants, slaves, free blacks, and Asians." And it wasn't until 80 years later that the Naturalization Act of 1870 allow "aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent" to become citizens (but in a very limited sense). It wouldn't be until the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943 that Asians were allowed to become citizens.
Also important to remember is that the even as these laws were passed, the post-Civil War era of Jim Crow was just beginning. These laws would institutionalize racism in laws and business practices across the country until the end of legally accepted (de jure) racism in the 1960s.
What are some of the questions we might ask about the continued presence of the Confederate flag?
How does this history offer context on recent events?
- Context Articles
- Charleston church shooting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof captured; victims identified - The Washington Post
- For Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, shooting is another painful chapter in rich history - The Washington Post
- Clementa C. Pinckney (1973-2015), Pastor of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. in Charleston, SC (also includes a brief history of the church)
- What to call the attack?:
- Was what happened in Charleston terrorism? - The Washington Post
- Why We Shouldn't Call the Charleston Murders "Terrorism"
- Why Recognizing The Charleston Church Shooting As An Act Of Racially Motivated Terrorism Is Only The First Step
- Shooters of color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs.’ Why are white shooters called ‘mentally ill’? - The Washington Post
- Charleston shootings: Why is it a 'hate crime' and not terrorism? - BBC NewsbeatThe Wildly Different Ways One Senator Responds To Terrorism: Boston Versus Charleston
- Yes, Charleston was terrorism. Denying that isn't just wrong, it's offensive. - Vox
- *For the record, my position is reflected by this article, where the author argues that the term 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' does not refer to a clear and definable thing, but rather it serves specific political ends. At the same time, this should not be a reason to allow the growing threat of white and right-wing extremist violence to go unanalyzed.
Additional articles and videos:Student Media Contributions