Symbols and Heritage

Today is Flag Day, so I think that the flag as a symbol and symbols in general are subjects to consider. 

There has been a lot of chatter recently about symbols and heritage, so I thought now might be a good time to take a minute to see what those words mean. Obviously, people can have their own interpretations of these words, so I thought I would share an example from my own background. I grew up in New England in a suburb of Boston which was first settled in the 1630’s. One example of heritage would be the history of that area and a symbol of that might be historic buildings in the town. Another might be events which happened near by such as the Salem Witch Trials or Paul Revere’s Ride which we learned about from history books. Another could be the fact that I have ancestors who settled in the “colonies” before the Revolution. 

But, what do we do if heritage and symbols from one group cause pain for another group? There are those who consider the Confederate soldiers as heroes fighting for a noble cause, while others see them as traitors fighting to perpetuate slavery of black people. But today, many see examples of clinging to this failed heritage as a continuation of the racism that some thought the Union fought to stop. It wasn’t until 2018 that textbooks in Texas were changed to say that the war was not fought for states’ rights but rather to end slavery. And it was not until the hate crime of the slaying of nine black parishioners at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston South Carolina that the Stars and Bars of the confederate flag were removed from the State Capitol. This was 155 years after the end of the Civil War. 

Throughout the South communities have argued about the removal of symbols of the Civil War, whether they be statues or commemorative plaques, names of stadiums, schools or parks festooned by confederate flags. Some claim that heritage should not be denied and to do so is an attempt to rewrite history; others find such reminders as an excuse to continue vestiges of Jim Crow, separate but unequal practices and the denial of voting rights. Others have considered these symbols to have been used for intimidation and to create an atmosphere of fear in the African American populace. Recently the President has emphatically stated that he will not rename Southern military bases which were named for Civil War officers. There are currently 10 such bases, only one – named for General Robert E. Lee – was active during the Civil War. Fort Bragg in North Carolina is a major training base and is considered the largest military base in the world. Many of our current military forces continue to be trained on that large base. Four bases were created for troops in the time of World War I; the other five were not created until World War II (WWII) – over 70 years after the Civil War. The decades between the wars above was also a time when many of these statues were placed and activities of the Klan and lynching were widespread. 

The American military was segregated until desegregated by President Truman in 1948. Many returning troops from the battles of WWII were finding issues with coming home to the same segregated practices they had seen before the war. 1.2 million African Americans served in the military in WWII. Every minority group in the United States claims a proud heritage of service in that war, even though often in units separated mostly from the majority battalions of white troops. The famed Tuskegee Airmen were pilots in an all-black unit which flew more than 15,000 combat missions during the war for the Army Air Force. 44,000 Native Americans – almost ten percent of the entire native population served. Some were with a special unit created of Marines and others, such as the Navajo translators who were called the Code Talkers and used their language to circumvent the German military spies. Hispanic soldiers claimed between 400-500,000 veterans who fought proudly in that war; Puerto Ricans were used at times in the Philippines due to their Spanish speaking skills. Even Japanese Americans, though in small numbers, since many were in internment camps, numbered over 30,000 enlistees; many who fought in the European theater, while others were used as translators. America, as can be seen with these numbers, has been defended by armed forces of all races. Yet, it seems to me, that some must wonder how their blood is good enough to be spilled on foreign soil, but their skin color is suspect back at home. 

Today the military is still largely a white majority group of volunteers, since there is no longer a draft as was seen for previous wars. According to Statista white men and women comprise over 60% of the active duty armed forces (all services), African American men and women about 25% and Hispanic and other races make up the rest (numbers averaged and rounded for a rough estimate here). Additional numbers from State National Guard units may skew these totals a bit. The recent controversy about using US military forces against the American people needs to be considered in light of this multiracial cohort. One can see why Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) was so wrong in using statements such as give no ground to terrorists - his term for the protesters – as was the Defense Secretary Mark Esper who talked about cities as "battlespace". Battles such as this could easily set brother against brother, sister against sister. The current military leaders have taken much criticism from former leaders and retired generals for allowing the politicization of the military in the demonstrations in DC and elsewhere. This has further diminished our standing abroad and anywhere we promoted America as a land of free expression. The President frequently refers to troops as his military when the oath they swear is to uphold the Constitution of the United States. 

Timely Tidbits from here and there: 

• Although most colleges and universities have managed to have virtual online graduation ceremonies, the President insisted that his planned address before West Point cadets be held in person at the military school. This made the Academy have to bring all graduates back two weeks early for quarantine and then seat them six feet apart on the parade grounds so that the President could have his show. 

• Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson spoke of heritage recently and said – to me, continuation of Southern heritage means that my African American Great-great grandmother who was freed by the Civil War – would never have become free. (paraphrase -but something to think about.) 

• The President planned his first campaign rally in this COVID-19 era, to take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Juneteeth – or Freedom Day - the anniversary of when Emancipation was first announced to the population in Texas. It has long been celebrated by African Americans and many would like to see it become a national holiday. Tulsa is the site in 1921, where a white mob massacred hundreds of black Americans in a riot that destroyed a middle-class black community. After significant push back, the date was moved to the next day - a rare retreat for him. 

COVID-19 updates: This week saw several states which had opened up or reduced restrictions note increases in cases of the virus. Some have paused the moves to open. Numbers below from the CDC website. 

Total US cases 6/14/20 – 2,063,812 Total numbers of deaths – 115,271 

Total Maryland cases - 61,701 Total numbers of deaths – 2,939

 So, generally the totals seem to be slowly going down as numbers per day, although they are still increasing nationally with about 147,575 new cases and 5,230 new deaths; Maryland shows 4931 new cases with an increase of 237 new deaths. This is down from a previous daily average of 1000 new cases per day. 

So how to conclude this discussion about symbols and heritage – what does heritage mean to you? 

What does the symbol of a statue, a military uniform, a flag mean to you? 

All three of my brothers served in the military – what about your family? 

What does the symbol of a person in uniform or a veteran mean to you? 

 Should this service be politicized? 

As I write, residents of Atlanta are protesting the shooting death of another black man by police in a situation that it appears could easily have been de-escalated, instead of ending in gunfire. 

It brought to mind the words of a black poet from the days of the Harlem Renaissance in the early twentieth Century, Contee Cullen, who ended his poem “Yet do I Marvel” with these words: 

“Do I marvel at this curious thing - to make a man black and bid him sing?” 

Let’s try to make this a world where we all can sing. 

‘Til next week – Peace.