My southern roots are limited to my affection for sweet tea, creamy grits with extra butter and cheese. My family moved to South Carolina in the 1990’s after living in New York. Honestly, I was not excited about moving south. The South felt slow, backwards and archaic. Because I did not grow up in the South, I did not have strong feelings about the confederate flag debate. My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago and I was always taught about understanding what truly defines me as a person. It was my thought whatever that flag stood for did not define me. Some called it southern pride, heritage and history. Others called it a symbol of hate and slavery. In 2000, South Carolina …
My southern roots are limited to my affection for sweet tea, creamy grits with extra butter and cheese. My family moved to South Carolina in the 1990’s after living in New York. Honestly, I was not excited about moving south. The South felt slow, backwards and archaic. Because I did not grow up in the South, I did not have strong feelings about the confederate flag debate. My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago and I was always taught about understanding what truly defines me as a person. It was my thought whatever that flag stood for did not define me. Some called it southern pride, heritage and history. Others called it a symbol of hate and slavery.
In 2000, South Carolina legislatures decided to remove the flag from atop the state house dome to a flag pole right in plain sight of anyone who visited the grounds. It was a slap in the face of many who wanted it completely gone. It would seem that the flag supporters many of whom claimed it was southern pride, never addressed the problem of those who used the flag as a way to further oppress a group of people.
For me, the greatest way to deal with a bigot is to become the thing they are afraid of, a success! I graduated from Winthrop University. A school started by former South Carolina governor and segregationist Senator Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman. It is widely known he did NOT envision African Americans attending his university. But here I was not only attending but graduating with honors; for me his views were my motivation to succeed. I have been called a “nigger.” Surprisingly, the first time it happened was not in the south. I was living in New York playing in our diverse neighborhood of Greeks, Italians, Islanders, Hispanics and Latinos when a little Caucasian girl came to me and said in a rather snarky tone, “My mother told me not to play with you because you are a nigger.” I was mad. My response: I hit her. I felt violated by her words. I vowed then as a young child to prove the racist wrong.
But, I realized as I grew older no matter how many accolades I would accomplish, to many I would still be less than especially as an African American woman.
Then June 17, 2015 happened. My family and I were just returning from church. I received an alert on my phone of a shooting near a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Honestly, I did not think much of it. After all shootings happen, we see them on the news. Over the course of the next few hours I would learn the shooting actually happened inside Mother Emanuel AME, a staple of religion and civil rights in our state. The next few days of media coverage were emotional. We, as a state along with the nation, learned the names of those killed. We also discovered details of the killer, Dylann Storm Roof, a misguided 21-year-old on a mission to start a race war in a state already struggling with its unspoken racial divide. In the next few weeks, more details emerged about the killer including a picture of him draped in the confederate flag. The state that I have now become to love was at a tipping point and once again the removal of the confederate flag was at the center.
At first, I honestly did not believe removing the flag was a necessary solution. After all, racism is a heart issue, right? The Charleston Massacre had me re-evaluate my thoughts. I have many dear friends from Charleston. One such friend lost two of her family members in that horrific shooting. Slain Senator and Pastor Clementa Pinckney worked many years to remove the confederate flag from state house grounds to a more appropriate location. Like some, I felt like removing the confederate flag would not do much to address the issues of hatred. But after a discussion with my pastor who lived in the South for many years came my revelation and it is this: removing the flag was simply the right thing to do. Much of life is doing the right thing for the greater good. This is not about economics or about allowing African Americans to feel better- it’s about removing a symbol of hate and division that has long been a black-eye on the state of South Carolina.
Now do I think removing the flag is going to solve all the problems in South Carolina? No, but it’s a first step. The shooting started a long overdue conversation about race. South Carolina has a lot of growing pains ahead, but I am encouraged by this: Dum Spiro Spero. This is the Latin phrase taken from the seal of the great state of South Carolina. On the right side of the seal is a picture of a woman walking over a shore covered in swords and daggers. The woman represents hope and the overcoming of danger. The sunrise in the background symbolizes a new day for South Carolina. But the phrase, “Dum Spiro Spero” is why I am encouraged about South Carolina’s future: it means “While I Breathe I Hope.” My hope is, the days ahead are better than what we left behind. I have hope as we move forward as a state; we will become the example of race reform which affords a better future for generations. As the sunset on June 17, in the midst of darkness came the light of hope of a new sun rising in South Carolina. I believe better is coming.
This is dedicated to the Charleston 9 of Mother Emanuel AME, May we always remember and NEVER Forget:
Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41
Cynthia Hurd, 54
Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45
Tywanza Sanders, 26
Ethel Lance, 70
Susie Jackson, 87
Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49
Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74
Myra Thompson, 59
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While I Breathe I Hope: The Un-Southern Perspective to the Confederate Flag
