While a Prussian-American artist named Nicola Marschall designed the Confederate Flag, the flag has been both popularized and encouraged by mainly conservative Americans who idolize the Confederate soldiers of the Civil War. The people who continue to fuel this Civil War memorabilia also tend to emphasize the commonplace of respect and honoring the fallen that is so prevalent in U.S. patriotism, while ignoring the other symbol that it represents for around 13% of the United States population. 

After eleven states seceded and sparked the Civil War, the Confederacy opted for a new symbol to represent their opposition to the United States at the time. When the Confederate Flag was created, it represented the unity of the southern states, while also inherently supporting their obsession with white supremacy, racism, and hatred. 

Although the Civil War is over and the need for this artifact should be long gone, many self-proclaimed conservative Americans stand by their continued use of this flag and use it to represent their ancestry who fought in the Confederacy. More recently, this artifact was flown throughout events such as the January 6th Insurrection, indicating that the Southern appeal to this flag has been more likely than not transferred to its representation of hate and supremacy. 

The aforementioned 13% of our population view this artifact as a symbol for hatred of their skin color and race, and they are not alone. A North Carolina study showed that around 44% of North Carolinians believed that the flag should not be flown and that it is an obvious symbol of racism. At this point, many protesters believe similar action should be taken to ensure that this artifact remains in the museums and history books, and not flown in the hands of supremacists calling for inequality. 

Most supporters of the flag illustrate that the need to respect our veterans does not end for Civil War soldiers, and the flag is a way for Americans to do so. In many ways, this can be seen as an appeal to simply remember the Confederate Soldiers, while ignoring the racist effects it has on the rest of the population. 

The interesting aspect of this artifact is that it is a constant topic of discussion between differing parties. A seemingly simple illustration flown on the side of a road can mark the beginning of an area where any minority, especially African Americans, can feel unsafe due to this reminder of white supremacy. Certain questions must arise when mostly Southern Communities feel so strongly about the continued use of their flag, even when it affects minorities in such a harsh and daunting way. It’s polarizing use throughout the Black Lives Matter movement framed the narrative and showed the opposing sides throughout nationwide protests. In essence, many protests were fighting for the freedom from discrimination and racism in their daily lives. Whereas supporters of this flag were fighting for the freedom to represent their supremacist ideologies and discriminatory views, further emphasizing the contentious discussion of race and it’s dramatic effects it has on Americans.