My Point of View by Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Albert Lea is at an intersection in more ways than one. Like most places, we have many divisions in our community, and our Third of July Parade is meant to bridge those schisms for an evening of family fun and civic spirit. The weather was perfect this year, and the sidewalks were full of people.

Then a Hartland fire truck rolled down Bridge Avenue flying a Confederate flag, and the cracks started to show. Social media began lighting up over it on Saturday. By Sunday evening, news of the controversy had spread nationwide.

Leaving the misuse of public assets for personal agendas aside, that flag is an odd choice to fly at an Independence Day celebration in Minnesota for many reasons.

Brian Nielsen, the volunteer firefighter who drove the truck, explained his actions this way: “It’s not that I’m up for the rebel or the slavery part of it. It’s history. They’re trying to take this flag away. They’re basically trying to change the history and abolish it and get rid of it.”

That’s interesting because the people trying to “change the history” of the Confederate flag are mainly the ones insisting on strictly neutral or positive interpretations of its meaning, like states’ rights, freedom and Southern heritage. (At least Nielsen acknowledges its treason/slavery aspect.)

States’ rights is part of it, to be sure. The states that seceded from the Union to form the Confederacy knew their right to own slaves was under pressure. They had been content with federal power, though, when the U.S. government enforced the Fugitive Slave Act in free states. Either way, their primary concern was protecting the institution of slavery, as their articles of secession make clear.

Abraham Lincoln declared war on the Confederacy in 1861 to preserve the Union, and guess which state was first to volunteer troops?

Minnesota. It was the newest state and it made outsized contributions to the Union Army throughout the Civil War.

The First Minnesota Volunteer regiment fought in major battles like Gettysburg, Antietam, Vicksburg and the First Battle of Bull Run. The regiment sustained heavy losses and distinguished itself so valiantly at Gettysburg that President Calvin Coolidge later commended one pivotal charge the men made. He said, “Col. Colvill and those eight companies of the First Minnesota are entitled to rank as the saviors of their country.”

After the blood-soaked battle of Antietam in 1862, U.S. Army Brigadier-General Willis Gorman stated, “The First Minnesota Regiment fired with so much coolness and accuracy that they brought down three times one of the enemy’s flags, and finally cut the flag-staff in two.”

What would those veterans have thought if they saw someone flying a Confederate flag on the Fourth of July or any other day in Minnesota?

They helped hold our country together. We’re still the United States because of their courage and sacrifice. It was over 150 years ago, but we can still show respect to them by not flying the enemy flag here.

Then there’s the violent cultural baggage of the Confederate flag. The flag made a resurgence as an expression of resistance to the civil rights movement. It was flown by people who wanted to preserve the social order, with black people as disenfranchised, second-class citizens. Some terrorized black people who dared challenge that order. They used threats, beatings, arson, bombings,and murder.

When the tide of civil rights finally overturned Jim Crows laws, many of the states resisted federal orders to desegregate, and they added elements of the Confederate flag to their state flags in symbolic defiance.

Then came the ”Dukes of Hazzard.” This campy television show programmed a whole generation of kids, including me, to see the flag as an innocuous banner representing fun times and a harmless, rebellious spirit. I was in first grade, and I didn’t know any black people much less the true significance of the Confederate flag.

When I learned the full meaning in school, I felt confused. Why would anybody as cool as the Dukes want that symbol on their car? Bubba Watson, a pro golfer who now owns the General Lee, announced that he will repaint the U.S. flag atop the iconic car. It’s a sincere unifying gesture after the shooting in Charleston last month.

According to a recent CNN poll, 72 percent of African Americans see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, but only 25 percent of whites do. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn’t complain about political correctness when he agreed with NASCAR’s stance on removing the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s state grounds. He showed empathy.

He said, “I think it’s offensive to an entire race. It belongs in the history books and that’s about it.”

Most people understand that the Nazi flag is offensive to Jewish people and would never fly the swastika, even though that symbol has a variety of meanings. Why can’t we do the same with the Confederate flag out of consideration for African-Americans? It’s a necessary empathy gap to bridge.

 

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.