Promoting respect and dignity for all people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, color of skin, gender identity or political affiliation should be the unifying force that brings us all together.
Carol Pomeroy has been regularly published in the local paper with opinion letters about her concerns with the appropriateness of the Confederate Flag being a prominent part of the Faith 4th. Too often, she finds the rebuttal replies to her letters ignore her factual information and instead include personal attacks, misinformation, and often do not even address the subject at hand. Pomeroy has responded to a letter in the Post from 6/29/23, titled “Let’s talk about Faith 4th events.” Although her reply was not published in the local paper, Pomeroy’s views about this issue and her replies to the writer’s distractions from the Confederate flag’s place in 2023 are too important to only talk about each summer.
Carol Pomeroy
The issue at hand is the inclusion of the Confederate Flag in the Faith parade. The other issues mentioned have absolutely nothing to do with the Confederate flag continuing to be flown 158 years after the end of the Civil War. In my opinion, the previous sponsors of the July 4th event who withdrew their sponsorship did so because the Confederate flag represents division, inequality and the intimidation of Black people. That is not the message they wanted to continue to support. How do trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles driving down the streets of Faith with Confederate flags waving have anything to do with the United States honoring its Independence Day. They don’t!
Labeling people as only liberals who would object to the Confederate flag being displayed during public events only does more to divide the country rather than unite it. Promoting respect and dignity for all people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, color of skin, gender identity or political affiliation should be the unifying force that brings us all together. Black people too often feel that their voices will not be heard or they fear retaliation if they do speak up.
Again, the issue is the Confederate Flag today, not what occurred during the Civil War. No one is disputing that prior to the Civil War there were some free Black men. No one is disputing that slavery existed in Northern states as well as in the South and that northern ships brought slaves to this country. No one is disputing that some Black slaves were part of the Confederate army, but you need to research and understand in what capacity they served and why. It certainly wasn’t because they supported slavery. No one is disputing that there were a small number of Black men who themselves owned Black slaves. Enslavement of another human being was wrong no matter who perpetuated it. I think the blinders are on the people who either genuinely do not know their Southern history or choose to ignore those parts of history that they don’t want to acknowledge. Southern white history and Southern Black history is America’s history and it all occurred at the same time.
The Confederate Flag has absolutely nothing to do with whether one is Pro-Choice or Pro Life. The author of the previously mentioned letter thinks that abortion is the leading cause of Black baby deaths in America and that is one of the reasons abortions should be banned. You need to research the facts before you make misleading statements. The ban on abortions disproportionately affects Black and other people of color. More than 60% who seek abortions are people of color and approximately half live below the federal poverty line. The ban on abortion negatively affects Black women the most.
I seriously doubt that sponsors decided to either support the Faith parade or to support Pride. There is no relevance there either and has nothing to do with the Confederate flag. A flag representing racism and enslavement of Black people does not support equality or tolerance. Those who identify as LGBTQ+ are people of all skin colors, ethnicities and religious affiliations. They are deserving of all the rights and protection under the law to which any other person is entitled.
The only issue that was being questioned in my letter was the public display of the Confederate flag and its inclusion in the Faith Fourth of July parade. That particular letter is not about abortion. It is not about Black babies. It is not about “Pride week”. It is not about supporting or opposing gay rights. It is not about the late Walter Williams’, a Black scholar, personal opinion. It is not about who did what 158 years ago.
It is about a flag that in today’s current climate continues to represent racism, inequality and white nationalism. It does not belong in public settings.
Carol Pomeroy