What South Carolina Needs to Do for Racial Equality (Taking Down the Flag Is Just Symbolic)
The step to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse is a welcome one, but it is only a symbolic measure. South Carolina’s 4.8 million residents can only achieve greater racial harmony and civil rights through practical steps.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s website.
Governor Nikki Haley announced on Monday that she would attempt to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the statehouse, recognizing the pain it causes the one-third of the state who are African-Americans (about a quarter of whites also don’t care if it is up or not). Haley’s initiative may or may not work out; she needs a two-thirds majority.
This step is a welcome one, and IC called for it more than once. But it is only a symbolic measure and South Carolina’s 4.8 million residents can only achieve greater racial harmony and civil rights through practical steps. Among the most pressing of these steps:
Congressional districts in the state should not be drawn by the legislature, elected on a partisan basis, but by an impartial panel. Nearly a third of the population there is African-American or mixed, but it is not proportionally represented in politics because of gerrymandering. Six of the seven US representatives are white Republicans.
South Carolina should expand medicaid as part of Obamacare. 178,000 people there have gotten caught in the coverage gap, and they are likely disproportionately African-American. South Carolina health statistics are Third World, and the state needs to address this problem. Instead, the spiteful South Carolina legislature tried to nullify Obamacare.
Some 22 counties are low-education, with 25 percent or more residents having less than High School. African-Americans are disproportionately disadvantaged educationally. The state needs more funding for high schools.
The welfare of all South Carolinians would increase with these steps.
——
ABC News: “Gov. Haley calls on SC Legislators to remove Confederate flag”
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
In the intensifying debate over the Confederate flag, important clues about the true meaning of this seditious symbol are staring us in the face.
Poet Claudia Rankine's painfully powerful piece delves into how the "killing of black people is an unending spectacle" that leaves black Americans in a constant state of mourning and raises the question, "What kind of country do we live in?"
The Confederate flag in its current form was adopted by the seceding slave states to differentiate their banner from the Stars and Stripes on the battlefield. It isn't a symbol of regionalism.
There are many essential responses to the racist terrorism attack on Emanuel AME Church that the state of South Carolina should take. But those of us who don’t live in that state can also take action.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.