Do blacks care about hs names?

Question

I find it odd when I hear about high schools in the south named after Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, or Stonewall Jackson. Maybe I'm not paying enough attention, but I've never heard any blacks make a big deal out of it or attempt to have the names changed. To me, it seems a little dumb to be against the confederate flag when the people that actually faught for the South are still so prominant in society. Shouldn't the institutions that have these peoples names be targeted more than a piece of cloth?

Serenity, you make some good points. However, the local community names and runs the school...so if they decide jefferson davis or lee was a hero and name it after them, what does that tell you about their mindset? being from the north, i consider these men traitors. doesn't matter if they were fighting for slavery, state's rights, whatever. i'm sure al qaeda thinks they are fighting for something moral too

Answer 1

You're right, of course. But I think the answer is that names like Jefferson Davis and Gen Jackson have historically never been used to threaten blacks, but the Confederate flag has. In particular, when the flag was displayed on a license plate or bumper sticker, it was considered to mark that vehicle as owned by someone who was not a notable human rights advocate.

There is an old WPA mural in the auditorium of an old junior high school in New Haven, Connecticut that shows slaves loading cotton bales. The school's students are mostly black, and when I pointed this out to one of the teachers, also black, she rolled her eyes and laughed. The kids, she said, never notice.

But the flag has long been a symbol of racial trouble. That is why, in my years in Mississippi, I never saw a Confederate flag license plate on any car licensed there: after years of conflict, they're pretty much out of the confrontation business down there. Here in southern Ohio, where there are essentially no blacks, I see the Confederate flag quite frequently.

Answer 2

Hmm, I didn't know those high schools existed and I'm not sure whether or not I would make a big deal about them. Making a big deal about the confederate flag is different in my opinion because that's for an individual person. From my experience, those who fly that flag have been racists. I have one friend who flies that flag and she's not racist, but for the most part other people have been. You can't judge how everyone is going to act in school just because it has those names.

edit: I suppose you have a point, but unless someone is actually complaining about the name I doubt they would randomly change it. They probably think nothing of it since I'm sure those names have been around for decades.

Answer 3

its a shame that anyone thinks you made agood point. blacks are not in control of laws,or enforcement in any part of the world,blacks are victims and post traumatic victims of society. i think these institutions should keep their names,and people should learn the truth about the people behind the names,and then analyze the fact that it is being used in 2007,or recently changed.these types of actions should be included in american history. the present rascism is here to stay until america acknowledges all of its attacks and wrong doings to the black folk past and present,for slavery genocide,disenfranchisement, and JIMCROW still active. whites in the south run the south and once again traditions outweigha ny law on any given day.

Answer 4

I think the reason that the Confederate flag has been considered controversial is because the Ku Klux Klan has used it in parades and rallys, not because of the Civil War. It's like the Swastika, which has some sort of meaning in ancient Eastern philosophy; the moment you start using it to represent violence or hate, you change the meaning.

If you like the flag, then blame the Klan, not African Americans.

Answer 5

I don't think it really matters to people of color what the school is named unless it was something to honor a person who is a big klansman or someone of that nature like the guy who shot Martin Luther King, jr. Then I think there would be great outrage over it.

Answer 6

i get a kick out of that the civil war was not really about slavery it was about states rights vs federal power
Ulysses S. Grant once said to a reporter that if the civil war was just about freeing slaves he would drop his rife, withdraw his troops and walk home
that is why the flags still fly not because of racism but as a symbol of state pride, it is sad more people do not know this..............

Answer 7

Those are great men you are talking about. I'm a northerner but the south are entitled to heroes too. Though the Civil War was based on secession which was based on slavery, those people fought for a cause they thought was right.

Answer 8

What are you talking about they complain about it all the time, those men fought for states rights, in other words to have more control over the laws of their land than the federal government and I think given today's federal government that is not such a bad thing. Trying to change names of schools, roads, and other landmarks doesn't mean it never happened you can't erase history but you can learn from it. Presently in an Atlanta suburb (Clayton County)they are trying to change the name of Dixie Highway and Tara Boulevard. If they want to erase that part of southern history they damn well better quit bringing up how their ancestors were slaves and pretend it never happened all together,

Fat chance of that ever happening!

Answer 9

I believe blacks should be honored for all the contributions they've made to society. It would make sense to give them their due by naming prisons and penitetaries after them. Tookie Williams State Prison or Rodney king Federal Penitentiary both have a nice ring.

Answer 10

I don't really care.. I don't care about the flag either but some people get emotional about those things... I myself have bigger issues to be concerned with