I am writing in response to Alex Sewells article concerning the virtues of the Confederate flag.

The author began his article by stating that he was appalled and offended by the editorials lack of respect for [his] cultural heritage.

Have you not considered the fact that the Confederate flag is offensive to the African-American heritage?

This controversy is age old and has been discussed time and time again; several times in The Pendulum.

Yet I will once again state the opposing argument with the hopes that some might become slightly more sensitized to my point of view.

First and foremost, I find it quite laughable that the author refuses to recognize the fact that the Civil War was fought because of slavery.

It is true that there were other factors that led to the war, decentralization for example, but the Antebellum period was characterized by rising hostility caused largely by slavery.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Missouri Compromise, legislation put into place to pacify tension between the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery North, are just two examples of hostile situations that were able to be quelled before the Civil War actually broke out.

Industrialization, trade and federal control of states were all points of conflict; however, the major overarching point of contention was slavery.

I am not stating that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation to ensure liberty and equality for slaves, quite the contrary; he was a politician, a strategist and the president of the United States; it is obvious he had ulterior motives and I do not fault him for that.

I am sure that many of the founding fathers and previous presidents were slave owners and held racist views towards African-Americans.

However, that was a completely different time period and thus not applicable. What was right in 1863 is not necessarily right in 2007.

The South seceded from the Union and adopted the Confederate flag or rebel flag as its national symbol.

If one fought for the Confederate Army that implies that he agreed with the Confederacy principles and reasoning for secession, which was primarily because of slavery.

The Confederate flag is a symbol of disunity; a dark time in the history of the United States.

I do not think the Confederate flag is a bad image in itself but it carries a huge amount of historical baggage; baggage that offends and hurts fellow Americans.

Why would you want to display a hurtful image? To you the Confederate flag may symbolize your past but to me the Confederate flag represents the suppression and oppression of my heritage.

Have a little bit of sensitivity. The swastika, for example, was used by a number of cultures for 3,000 years and was a symbol of good and prosperity.

Adolph Hitler then adopted it as the symbol of Nazi Germany.

No one will ever look at the swastika in the same light again because of his actions and because it has become a symbol of hate and oppression. It carries offensive historical baggage.

The symbol itself is not negative, but it was used in a negative manner. The Confederate flag represents a similar pain for African-Americans as the swastika does for Jews.

I am not saying that you should not feel pride in your heritage, but I am asking that you step into anothers shoes.

Imagine that you walk into a store and see an image that represents a time in history when your ancestors were viewed as less than human, as chattel, as property.

It is extremely uncomfortable and hurtful for an African-American to walk into a store and see the Confederate flag displayed with pride.

It is for us a symbol of the period in time when we were neither welcome nor recognized as equal Americans.

You should refrain from displaying the Confederate flag, not out of shame, but out of respect for others.

Student: Whitney Hamilton, 09 - 03/15/07