Breanna Andrea

UWRT 1103 H04

Caruso
26 October 2016
Defense Paper
A symbols primary purpose is to represent qualities and ideas within a single space. A
symbol that is familiar to plenty of American citizens is the Confederate flag. Exploring
conversations involving the topic of the Confederate flag is something that interested me when I
arrived to college. When I was assigned this project I chose to complicate the discussion of the
Confederate flag because I had a formulated opinion on it but I did not truly understand the
history behind it. When I saw the flag it evoked negative emotions inside of me and I never
understood why. Ive had several conversations with people about the flag and there was only
one conversation that made me question my stance on the topic. For example, I had a
conversation with a student and she brought to my attention that the Confederate flag is not the
real Confederate flag. There were other flags present during the time of the civil war that were
used as symbols to represent the Confederacy. When I heard this information I was perplexed
and felt the urge to dig into this situation to have some clarification. Going through my research
I didnt look for answers I looked for more information to add to the complexity of the subject.
This product is being made to shed light on a situation that has controversy attached to it.
When I was given the assignment I knew I wanted to create something special to everyone. I
wanted to create a product that was similar to the emotions attached to the flag. By definition,
flags function as identity markers. Flags can also evoke a sense of separation (or even hatred), as
well as a sense of solidarity. This may be particularly so with the Confederate Flag, known for its

condensing qualities and ability to elicit a variety of emotional responses, including anger,
shame, indifference and pride (Holyfield, Lori, Matthew R. Moltz, and Mindy S. Bradley).
Starting the inquiry on the Confederate flag opened up the discussion to other topics including
the civil war, racism and southern pride.
Gathering opinions on the topic of the Confederate flag made it clear to me that the
subject wasn't just two opposing sides disagreeing, it was much deeper than that. Since people
feel such mixed emotions when they look at the flag I wanted to embrace and harness that
feeling in a single product. The alignment of the Confederate flag and the Black Lives Matter
movement sparks a lot of questions about The United States History. Questions about race
relations and how minorities felt about the flag were sparked by how black Americans have been
targeted in the past few years (Robert Greene II). These questions are sometime never answered
and opinions are formulated without a true understanding of American history and symbols as a
whole. Bringing together sides of the argument and exposing the uncertainties was my goal for
this product. After careful speculation I decided on recreating the Confederate Flag with an
added twist. No other symbol can stir the same emotion and I wanted to mimic that feeling while
representing multiple opinions. Ross Hughes, a white male, feel[s] as if the Confederate flag is
a piece of history. To [him] it represents a lost war, and a failure to create a new nation[he does
not] see it as a sign of hate. Though [he does] feel as if flying the flag is a sign of ignorance for
the majority of America, [he] also believe[s] that any government owned building should be
allowed to fly the flag[he] finds those who fly the flag out of hate, and chant the south will
rise again extremely ignorant because that is not at all what is represented by the flag. The flag
indeed is just a failed attempt to succeed from the United States of America. While Ross felt a
certain way others felt something completely different. Austin Jefferson, a black male, states

[The flag] is a symbol of a foreign nation and a culture which prides itself on the past and the
power they used to have, to proudly wave it now is their right but it symbolizes a time of great
pain and distress for [this] country and [he doesnt] like it. Jakob Pasley, a white male, felt that,
[The flag] shouldnt be a symbol of southern pride, because it wasnt used during the Civil War.
It was created to promote and show support for segregation. Most people hold on to the flag
because of a misconception of history and [he is not] a fan. As I went through with talking to
residents in Scott Hall there were several factors I had to consider. The first thing I had to think
about was whether I would be getting authentic responses from people because of what I looked
like. Some people might have felt pressured to talk about the Confederate Flag in a negative
tone because I am a woman of color and the flag has a correlation to the Civil War which
correlates to a time where African-Americans were treated lesser than white Americans. Keeping
in mind the disclaimers those were just three responses out of fifteen that I received.
My product is another version of the Confederate flag which includes the interviewees
names on the stars with their feelings toward the flag below it. When a Confederate flag is
spotted sometimes its hard to identify the reasoning behind flying it because there are several
different viewpoints associated with this one symbol. The research I conducted showed me the
bigger picture. Battling over [the flag] is a proxy for larger concerns about race, but the fight is
also an important one unto itselfa fight over what the Civil War and Reconstruction mean for
American society (II R. Greene). There are several controversial topics that stem from the one
symbol that represented a time in American history.
To start I talked to several people in Scott Hall and I asked them for their opinion on the
Confederate flag. I gave the participants an open environment to discuss the topic of the flag and
what it meant for them. The only information I gave them was that their responses were going to

be used for my UWRT class. After receiving responses from a few residences in Scott Hall I took
their opinions and put them into the Confederate flag. Once the flag was constructed I decided
that the proper place to put the flag was in the common area on the fourth floor considering that
most of people who contributed to this product live or interact with the residents on the fourth
floor of Scott Hall. The Flag was set up along with a jar to put in additional responses and
comments about the Confederate flag. The product was made to enhance the discussion and
allow people to truly think about their thoughts on the flag because it was something I never did.
The goal is to provoke curiosity and establish an open discussion environment that will
ultimately lead to more people being aware of their inquiry paths. I want to increase the
conversation between opposing sides and I want others to be aware of their opinions. Even
though the Confederate flag piece is completed the conversation continues because of the jar set
up next to it. Events like the Charleston shooting or police brutality should not be the sole reason
why Americans start to question or think about the Civil War and the symbols associated with it.

Original Work Cited

Cannon, Devereaux D. The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History. Memphis, TN: St.
Lukes,
1988. Print.
Eggenberger, David. Flags of the U.S.A. New York: Crowell, 1964. Print.
Loeffelbein, Robert L. The United States Flagbook: Everything about Old Glory. Jefferson, NC:
McFarland, 1996. Print.
Martinez, J. Michael., William Richardson D., and Ron McNinch-Su. Confederate Symbols in
the
Contemporary South. Florida: U of Florida, 2000. Print.

New Work Cited

Brattain, Michelle. "Forgetting the South and the Southern Strategy." Miranda. (2013). Print.
Holyfield, Lori, Matthew R. Moltz, and Mindy S. Bradley. "Race Discourse and the Us
Confederate
Flag." Race, Ethnicity and Education. 12.4 (2009): 517-537. Print.
Reingold, Beth, and Richard S. Wike. Confederate Symbols, Southern Identity, and Racial
Attitudes: The
Case of the Georgia State Flag. Social Science Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 3, 1998, pp. 568580.
www.jstor.org/stable/42863820.
Society, For U. S. I. H, and II R. Greene. "Confederate Flag Blues." Usih Blog. (2015): 2015-7.
Print.