Carolyn Williams

June 5, 2000

Assignment 2

Charleston, South Carolina

And the Confederate Flag

Recently, my husband, Lawrence, and I were able to go back to Charleston, South Carolina for a much too brief visit. Before moving to Virginia in 1995, we lived in Ladson, just outside of North Charleston, for ten years.

Charleston is one of my favorite places to visit. The history is as rich as the she-crab soup Charleston is famous for. It was the main port for the slave trade and was the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. The history of a divided nation now seems to divide a state.

The controversy of the Confederate flag flying over the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina has swept throughout the country. Everyone is talking about it among his or her own group, but it doesn't appear that anyone wants to cross the race barrier and talk about this rationally.

In a record shop owned by a friend, patrons planning to attend the Black Bikers' Convention in Myrtle Beach were told to have a good time but not mention anything about the flag. It may cause trouble. At the Market, there seemed to be more than the usual "Flags of the Confederacy" booths. In the past, vendors would have had more Civil War memorabilia to offer with the flag, but now it's all about the flag. Everyone seems to be making their own quiet little statement of how they feel about this issue.

The NAACP urged Blacks not to spend any of their tourist dollars in South Carolina until the Confederate flag was removed from the statehouse dome. With all the controversy surrounding this issue, many scheduled conventions, meetings and annual events have been cancelled.

The flag was finally removed from the dome, but moved to a more visible place on the grounds. Though the state acknowledges that the boycott did cause them to loose millions in revenue, the relocation of the flag was said to be "a slap in the face" to Blacks by the NAACP.

Not only did Blacks believe this symbol of oppression for them should have come down. The majority of Whites in the state believed the flag had no place on the statehouse grounds, even though there were others who openly opposed its removal.

Even with the recent boycott encouraged by the NAACP and increasing controversy, downtown seems oblivious to the plight of the state. Tourists and merchants still go about buying and selling.

The tourists still performed the ritual buzzing in and out of the quaint little store-fronts that line Meeting and King Streets. Each store promises something that would catch the eye of any person eager to purchase some souvenir for Aunt Sarah, or Clara at the office. Most shops were so small that its occupants had to turn side ways to allow others to pass, or enter in one corridor and exit from another.

While the old Slave Market Place was in the process of receiving a face-lift, vendors still hawked their wares as if they had not a care in the world, each wanting you to believe they had something unique or special when the guy two stalls down had the same thing.

Even the flower ladies seemed unaware of the tensions in the air, though they knew everything that was going on. They simply sat quietly, weaving their baskets of sweet grass, a skill that has been passed on to them from generation to generation. For them, it was all about the sale.

While driving along the quaint streets of Charleston and looking out at Fort Sumpter from the Battery, I wonder what could cause such tension in the state, even across the country? One group says it's about heritage, not hate. Another group says the flag is a symbol of hatred and slavery, of the Ku Klux Klan. So many of Charleston's tourists' attractions are built on the slave trade. Is there any wonder why there
are conflicting opinions as to who is right.

Having lived on one side of that line, I can only say unless you know how it feels to be told you can't enter a store because you are Black, you wouldn't understand. If you have never been called "niggra" (so close to the "N" word) instead of a Negro or Black because the latter allowed dignity, it would be hard to comprehend.

Yes, I believe the flag should have come down. For all the injustices that are associated with it, it's very painful for me. Furthermore, if a nativity scene has no place on government grounds during the holiday season, why should a flag that is neither the state flag or nation's flag be allowed such a significant place?

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