The Civil War ended 150 years ago, but the Confederate flag is still a hot topic. Recently some students on campus have been told they can no longer wear nor display the flag on school grounds. For junior Josh Shewmake, that has meant he can no longer fly the Confederate flag from the back of his truck. (Benjamin Prengler)
The Civil War ended 150 years ago, but the Confederate flag is still a hot topic. Recently some students on campus have been told they can no longer wear nor display the flag on school grounds. For junior Josh Shewmake, that has meant he can no longer fly the Confederate flag from the back of his truck.

Benjamin Prengler

A flag of pride to some, a sign of racism to others

School prohibits the wearing or displaying Confederate flag on campus

April 15, 2015

Sophomore Davis DeShields displays a small Confederate flag, however school administration has determined the flag is no longer allowed on campus.
Josh Shewmake
Sophomore Davis DeShields displays a small Confederate flag. However school administration has determined the flag is no longer allowed on campus.

150 years after the Civil War ended and the Union was brought back together, some people in the South still acknowledge the Confederacy by flying rebel flags. Multiple students on campus can be seen with Confederate merchandise, including flags on cars, clothes, or other visible accessories, despite the negative undertones many people have surrounding the Confederacy.

It’s not meant to come across as offensive, like some people take it.

— Josh Shewmake

Junior Josh Shewmake is aware of the impression of prejudice that is often associated with the Confederate flag. He has the flag on the headliner of his truck and flies it often as he can separate the flag from its more controversial aspects.

“Nowadays, it means more of like, southern pride,” Shewmake said. “It’s not meant to come across as offensive, like some people take it. It’s more of like, an older generation of self-work and just pride in being yourself, and being independent.”

While most people associate the Confederate flag with slavery, sophomore Davis DeShields, who owns a wallet and clothes with the flag, believes it has “nothing” to do with slavery.

“They actually fought on the southern side, the slaves did, so the fact that people think it’s about slavery is actually kind of funny,” DeShields said. “It’s honestly what they believe it is and all that, if people take offense to it, they just need to understand that it doesn’t have anything to do with slavery. It’s showing that the slaves actually fought for the southern side, which shows that they helped, and they actually had that flag whenever they were doing it.”

Deshield’s perception isn’t uncommon, but fewer than one percent of the soldiers that fought for for the South during the Civil War were freedmen or slaves, and all were barred from enlisting until 1865, but an estimated 180,000 freedmen and slaves fought for the Union, which amounts to about 10 percent of the Union army.

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“The reason that blacks fought for the South is because the choice was to fight or get shot,” AP U.S. History teacher Brian Erskine said. “Slave owners would send their slaves to fight or to do the awful work, like carrying the flag, which is like a big target. So that wasn’t fair to them.”

But people who support wearing the flag say that it implies living in the South more than it implies the negative aspects associated with the Confederacy and the Civil War. In addition to wearing the flag to school, junior Cody Cummings has the rebel flag on his ceiling, his truck, and his wallet.

Attached to the interior roof of his truck, junior Josh Shewmake believes the confederate flag is about southern pride and owns several things featuring the Confederate flag.
Josh Shewmake
Junior Josh Shewmake, with the flag attached to the headliner of his truck, believes the confederate flag is about southern pride and owns several items featuring the Confederate flag.

“It’s just pride in my heritage,” Cummings said. “I’m supporting the southern half of America. It’s just pride in my heritage, which is southern Texas, and that’s pretty much all there is to it. People think that just because I fly a rebel flag, you’re racist, because the Civil War, civil rights, African Americans, slavery, all that.”

Regardless of any harmless intentions, some argue that the Confederate flag and the principles that are associated with it should not be glorified.

“The Civil War accomplished two things,” Erskine said. “It killed a lot of people, and it created about 80 years worth of racism. So some people will say that they have a claim to their heritage, or they have some kind of right to display it, as a way to remember. Well what are you remembering? And so what I suspect is that most of the people who display the Confederate flag are not educated about what they’re really doing.”

Recently, administrators have noticed the rebel flag on clothing, and have restricted students from wearing it, asking them to change clothes if it is visible.

People think that just because I fly a rebel flag, you’re racist, because the Civil War, civil rights, African Americans, slavery, all that.

— Cody Cummings

“I’ve been told multiple times that I’m no longer allowed to wear [the Confederate flag], and I still do,” Shewmake said. “In the student code of conduct, there is nothing that says I’m not allowed to, but the principals are on me about wearing it, so now all my friends are wearing it, just because. I think you should be able to wear whatever you want.”

Administrators cite the Student Handbook’s list of prohibited clothing, which includes anything depicting sex, violence, drugs, tobacco, alcohol, death, gang or hate slogans or pictures.

“We’re actually considering that part of the “hate slogan,” which is under number one in prohibited clothing,” associate principal Teresa Dodson said. “And if you really go out and do enough research on the Confederate flag, what you’ll see is that there’s been enough controversy around that particularly in schools where it is viewed that way. So we’ve had to say, yes, at Lovejoy High School, it’s a prohibited item.”

Other students on campus, both black and white, recognize the controversy surrounding the rebel flag.

With the Confederate flag draped over his shoulders, freshman Hunter George looks at his phone in class.
Josh Shewmake
Freshman Hunter George looks at his phone in class with the Confederate flag draped over his shoulders.

“The people who waved Confederate flags around in the Civil War are the ones who wanted slavery around,” junior Ben Ominara said. “That’s offensive, ignorant, and narrow-minded.”

Administrators and other people on campus argue that people should not wear Confederate flags to school because it is an item that has, in the minds of many, an inextricable connection to racism.

“What a lot of guys will tell you is that it’s like a symbol of rebellion, or independence, or ‘fighting the man,’” Erskine said. “What they don’t realize is, people who were a part of the Confederacy were committing treason. So even if we’re not talking about slavery, we’re not talking about black and white relations and civil rights, what we’re talking about is a group of people who committed treason against the Constitution.”

For those who consider it to be “a southern roots thing,” publicly flying the flag is not meant to condone the values that Confederates stood for during the Civil War.

“Just because I fly the rebel flag doesn’t mean that I’m racist,” Cummings said. “Just because I’m proud of where I’m from, and who I am doesn’t mean that I’m racist, doesn’t mean that I’m prejudiced or anything, it’s just pride. It’s just part of who I am.”

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  • D

    DanniApr 24, 2015 at 1:26 pm

    A proud heritage of hard work?? If by “hard work” they mean “profiting off the literal blood of black slaves and ‘freed’ sharecroppers (forced into essentially a newer iteration of slavery)”, then yes. It is a heritage of “hard work”.

    Reply
    • D

      DanniApr 24, 2015 at 1:42 pm

      Not to mention the Stars & Bars flag [ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-csa7.gif ] was the actual national flag of the CSA. Even pretending the national flag wasn’t inherently racist because the reason for secession was to maintain slavery, the Battle Flag is racist not only for that same reason but also it’s extended history that includes, though is not exclusively limited to, the use of the Battle Flag to protest racial integration in Southern schools and as a symbol for the KKK. Even now, as any & all Nazi imagery is banned in several European nations, Neo Nazis are using the Confederate Battle Flag as a placeholder to avoid breaking the law while still projecting their racism.

      TL;DR
      The Battle Flag is inextricably linked with racism.

      Reply
  • J

    Jake LarimerApr 20, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    There are more effective ways to show pride and independence than wearing an emotionally charged symbol that is strongly connected to racism. If you want to show Southern pride, why not fly a Texas flag? Although you may not view the confederate flag as a symbol of racism, you must consider other people’s beliefs. A significant portion of the population does correlate the Confederacy with racist ideals. It is undeniable that the dispute over slavery was a cause for secession, and the Confederate States of America was a coalition of states which supported this viewpoint. As a public forum, the focus of Lovejoy High School is to inspire intellectual inquiry rather than provoke unnecessary offense. Displaying the Confederate flag crosses the line from promoting a diversity of ideas to openly demeaning others.

    Reply
  • J

    Jonathan StinsonApr 20, 2015 at 8:55 am

    I would never try to guess a persons intentions or call into questions their character based on their display of the rebel flag. That being said, if it truly is about “southern heritage”, why fly the Confederate Battle Flag (rebel flag) instead of the actual Flag of the Confederate States of America (Stars and Bars)?

    Reply
  • K

    Kim CrossApr 15, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    How sad and embarrassing for Lovejoy. Free speech is one thing but poor taste and bad judgment are quite another. I can’t imagine how this would make a black student feel. I wonder if these young men would display their “pride” at a high school in South Dallas.

    Reply
    • J

      josh shewmakeApr 17, 2015 at 11:09 am

      As a proud Texan and proud of my heritage I would display my flags with no problem. It’s not about race it’s about heritage as my ancestors fought for what they believe in. This flag is a symbol of patriotism just like any other flag that flew over the states it represents the red white and blue! It’s all about heritage not hate!

      Reply
    • W

      William BrunerMay 7, 2015 at 8:25 am

      So, your saying that I can’t honor my great great great grandfather who lost his eye in the war with the union by flying my Confederate flag. Personally being a decedent of General Robert E Lee, I find this to be especially hurtful. You speak of prejudice and discrimination, it sounds to me that you are just trying to make it “okay” to have prejudice and discriminate against the people that have the courage to display their pride in their roots and where they came from.

      Reply
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