Posted on 2/25/2003, 2:01:59 PM by berserker
An appearance by Cobb County's first African-American state legislator at a meeting of a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter in Mableton ended abruptly Monday night after she said she was offended and left.
Leaders of the Chattahoochee chapter of the SCV said they were equally offended by Rep. Alisha Thomas' talk and accused her of causing a scene in front of the media for political gain.
Thomas, an Austell resident elected in November to the state House of Representatives in a majority-white district in south and central Cobb, had been invited to speak at the group's monthly meeting.
Thomas had made her position known in support of the current Georgia flag, and the group -- which meets in her district -- had said they wanted to hear her reasoning.
The meeting began cordially enough, though with some tension. Thomas had asked agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to come, on the advice of a legislative colleague. At least three agents appeared to be in attendance.
Several cars in the parking lots bore either Confederate battle flag or old Georgia flag license plates, and a van with the third national flag of the Confederacy flapped in the wind atop a 10-foot pole.
To start the meeting, members of the SCV listened to a prayer and said the Pledge of Allegiance. They then pledged allegiance to what they called "the real Georgia flag," the post-1956 version that incorporates the Confederate battle emblem, and saluted the Confederate flags arranged at the podium. SCV member Jerry Wingate of Marietta then sang "Dixie," receiving hoots and hollers of appreciation.
Thomas was introduced and opened by telling the crowd emphatically that she supported Georgia's current flag, which was adopted in 2001. "The truth is, there are several white supremacist organizations who have appropriated the battle flag as a symbol" of hatred and slavery, Thomas went on to tell the mostly white audience of about 40 to 50 people gathered in the South Cobb Community Center.
Thomas said she understood the historic significance the Confederate emblem on the former Georgia flag holds for some people. "I'm asking you to understand, the symbol that you love . . . is a symbol that for African-Americans is hateful and represents a dark past for our people," she said. Thomas then referred to the lynchings of blacks carried out in the South.
Dan Coleman, commander of the chapter, told Thomas the old flag was removed by former Gov. Roy Barnes in a hasty decision with no public input. Coleman said the flag was designed to honor Confederate soldiers, not offend black people.
Coleman spoke of a tavern in the old Underground Atlanta that played Dixieland jazz, where "Dixie" could be sung in public. He said he regretted those days were gone. "To sweep the rich Southern culture under the rug would be a mistake," Coleman said.
Coleman then noted that the NAACP strongly opposed the Confederate emblem. He blasted the organization as cash-strapped and accused it of needing "a bogeyman" to blame for racial problems.
Thomas, who is 24, was a student organizer with the NAACP, rising to the presidency of the Georgia youth chapter. "I'm not going to sit here and let you degrade the oldest and greatest civil rights organization," Thomas told Coleman. After a few more words were exchanged between the two, Thomas left the small building.
Outside the meeting, Thomas said she didn't regret her decision to attend. "I think it was going OK until he started talking about the NAACP," she said. "To be disrespected like that, I'm just amazed."
Coleman and some other SCV members followed Thomas outside, and they continued to debate the issue and what had just transpired in the hall.
SCV member Timothy Pilgrim said he thought Thomas was "mighty disrespectful in her actions and her attitude here. She called us racists because we love our Southern heritage."
While her past is tied to the NAACP, she went to that meeting as an elected representative of her majority white district in Cobb County. She calmly explained her rationale and viewpoint. That would have been an opportunity for the SCV to explain - rationally and realistically - their view on the issue. Instead, they took the time and effort to denigrate her association with the NAACP and anything else for that matter.
They turned the issue from one of "Southern Heritage" to one of race. Alisha came looking for answers - she got them, all right. But most of you have to agree that she took away the wrong ones; the answers she got were that the only reason that those supporting the old Georgia flag want to turn it back is because of race.
I'm sorry, but as many of you here have shown me, the issue is deeper than that. But because you allowed less thoughtful minds to prevail, the impression she was given - and the impression that was given to the media as a direct result - was that all old Georgia flag supporters are knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers. And you know what? It's gonna be that much harder to convince people otherwise.
Some have said that this was out of the NAACP playbook. Nope. It's out of the sheer stupidity of limited thinking on the part of the flag supporters. This made you all look like complete neanderthal idiots. You had a chance to be the bigger man, and you blew it.
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BTW, before the 1950s the Confederate Battle Flag was viewed strictly as an historical object. If you look at photos of the Ku Klux Klan at the height of their power during the 1920s, they are always carrying American flags, not Confederate flags. Confederate flags back then weren't even an issue of contention. So maybe EVERYBODY needs to chill out and treat the Confederate Battle Flag the way they did before it became a symbol of segregation in the 1950s. I can see justification for removing it from State flags if it was added as a reaction to the 1954 Supreme Court decision. However, I have no problem with the Confederate Battle Flag in the historical context such as its presence at historic battle sites, re-enactments, or even if someone just wants to fly it on their property.
Just my two cents on this issue. (But I recommend that everyone check the photos of Klan rallies before the 1950s/late 1940s and you WON'T see the Confederate Battle Flag.)
They can't have it both ways.
Who here would like to help me?
At this age she's not exactly steeped in the wisdom of the ages or experience. She talks like she's still in the grip of sophomore-itis, a common affliction among recent college graduates.
Before 1956 the Confederate Battle Flag was NOT part of the Georgia flag. BTW, the stars and bars you referred to isn't the Confederate Battle Flag. That was the original Confederate flag which looked like the American flag but had three bars where the stripes are. This flag was later replaced with a white flag with the Confederate Battle Flag as its ensign because the original flag caused too much confusion on the battlefield due to its resemblace to the American flag.
The funny thing is that if you fly the REAL Cofederate flag of Stars & Bars, there is no controversy. Same goes with the Bonnie Blue Flag with the star in the middle that preceded it. The Confederate Battle Flag generated as little controversy as well UNTIL it became a symbol of southern resistance to integration in the 1950s. So perhaps we need to get back to that pre-1950s attitude regarding the Confederate Battle Flag.
So rather than discuss things rationally, it's better to begin to deride her associations?
Let's be realistic. The impression that blacks (and many others) in this state are left with is that the confederate battle flag is meant as a slam against blacks and other minorities. That was at the core of the change to that flag in 1956.
If I had my druthers, I'd much rather see a return to the pre-1956 flag; it did not have the Confederate emblem so despised/feared by many, and it has historical significance to the state, as opposed to the present flag, which was cobbled together by backroom deals engineered by former Governor Roy Barnes.
As for her leaving the meetings, what was she supposed to do, sit there and take the verbal punishment? "Oh, it's OK that you demean and deride my work in the past; even though I'm here to represent my constituents on trying to get an understanding of why there's such a desire to return to the Confederate flag."
Please.
To answer you question, no, I wasn't there. But I have spoken to people who were there. And ultimately, this meeting will be looked at as yet another black eye on the state's reputation.
It makes it pretty damned difficult to have conversation when I'm asked why I associate with racists who want the Confederate flag back; and the detractors point to that meeting as an indication of how they want to keep blacks down.
Folks just look at me, shake their heads, and wonder..."Just how much did he sell his soul out for."
Makes it difficult to show people the truth about conservatives.
If she truly didn't want to understand, then why come to the meeting in the first place? Grandstanding? Not here - there are plenty of grandstanding opportunities that would have been less demeaning.
Isn't is possible that she actually was interesting in learing about the other side? Is that so far fetched?
And if so, then why?
And there won't be, until someone from the fringe left figures it out and begins to slam that - who knows, next they may try to outlaw flags! [g]
And one other small thing: removing the stars and bars from the state flag isn't going to denegrate the heritage of Georgia. Now, if someone decided to try and pass a law outlawing the displaying of the stars and bars, even though not on the state flag, well, that would be dumb.Agreed.
And I'd much rather see a return to the pre-56 flag anyway. But I have no desire to see thousands of tax dollars wasted in either event.
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