By 1789, four of the Northern states had adopted policies to at least gradually abolish slavery: Pennsylvania (1780), New Hampshire and Massachusetts (1783), Connecticut and Rhode Island (1784). By 1804 all the other Northern states had abolished slavery: New York (1799), New Jersey (1804). Vermont abolished slavery in 1777, while it was still independent, and when it joined the United States as the 14th state in 1791 it was the first state to join untainted by slavery. Kentucky was created a slave state from Virginia (1792), and Tennessee was created a slave state from North Carolina (1796). By 1800, before the creation of new states from the federal western territories, the number of slave and free states was eight each. In popular usage, the geographic divide between the slave and free states was called the Mason–Dixon line.

you need to look at slavery as a whole not just what black children are taught at school. slavery has been on this world as long as memory . all races have been slaves at one point in history. people sold them self into slavery to get to this country so that their children would have a free and have a better life. there is still slavery in this world as muslim's I hear believe in slavery. so before you blame this country for something that happened long ago you need to see what you have today. you can'nt blame whites for everything. have we staked you out and kept you from getting an education its there you get a lot of help from the goverment none of my kids did and we lived below poverty level. you get jobs just like whites of course there are'nt any because our goverment keeps sending our jobs to other country's so can'nt blame us for that. i have nothing against black people I work with some really wonderful black people and they bust ass to give their family what they want them to have. Some black and some whites I wish would grow up you act like some one owes you something I don't think so . All you do is cause trouble .

**See a black lady defending the flag-she suffers from Stockholm's Syndrome**

http://thegrio.com/2015/07/03/confederate-flag-defenders-history-heritage/

Opinion
by Demeteria Irwin |

The Confederate battle flag is a symbol of white supremacy and hatred. This is not some extreme left-wing, Obama super fan interpretation of it. This is a statement of fact. As Ta-Nehisi Coates succinctly and eloquently pointed out in his Atlantic piece, the Confederate states were very clear on their reasons for seceding from the Union.

Louisiana, for example, specifically noted that slavery was the primary motivation for secession.

“As a separate republic, Louisiana remembers too well the whisperings of European diplomacy for the abolition of slavery in the times of an­nexation not to be apprehensive of bolder demonstrations from the same quarter and the North in this country. The people of the slave holding States are bound together by the same necessity and determination to preserve African slavery.”

No secessionist flag should fly over any nation. Period. The war was fought, and the Confederacy lost. It’s over. The Confederate battle flag is a memento from the losing side. The oft-mentioned reason for holding on to the good ol’ stars and bars is that it’s not about racism or slavery (please see the above quote), bt rather Southern pride.

There are numerous reasons to be proud about Southern heritage — the meals cooked with equal amounts of butter and love, music that flows from the muddy bosom of the Mississippi River straight to the soul and awe-inspiring, natural wonders that no man-made structure could even begin to match. Southerners should be proud about those contributions to the world. But the Confederate flag does not represent those wonderful cultural gifts. That garish red flag with a blue cross slashed across it, waved over battlefields during the Civil War as Confederates took and lost thousands of lives in the name of the states’ right to preserve slavery.

Confederates sacrificed many sons to maintain the cruel and inhumane practice of chattel slavery — an institution embedded in white supremacy. And though slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, its effects still reverberate today in all facets of life, such as banks red-lining majority black neighborhoods, colorism, de-facto segregation and school resources doled out unfairly along racial lines.

All of these poison fruits come from the tree of white supremacy, the notion that black people are inherently less than white people. That is what the Confederate flag represents. Feeling pride about the Confederate flag equates to believing in white supremacy. That is a dangerous concept, and in recent weeks, this country has seen the ugly violence of “proud” Confederate flag devotees.

So, Ms. Karen Cooper, when your fellow flaggers and Tea Partiers trot you out at rallies and events with your brown skin and flowing locks, it is not because they believe all black people are great and equal to them. They believe you are “different” (and gullible).

It was painful to watch that video and hear you speak with gratitude and awe about white people smiling and saying hello to you in the South and how that was when it became clear to you that white people weren’t so bad. Of course all white people aren’t bad. Every race contains people with diverse sets of values, morals and behavior. And as a great songwriter once said, “Respect is just the minimum.”

But you somehow made the leap from understanding that there are good white people to embracing a symbol that represents hatred of people who look like you. As an African-American woman, you almost certainly have enslaved ancestors. Your ancestors suffered under the violent tyranny of slavery. That flag you so proudly wave was flown on battlefields for men fighting to keep your ancestors physically, mentally, culturally and financially shackled. How can you celebrate that?

People like to note that a lot of government-sanctioned cruelty has been done under the American flag, so if we keep flying that, lovers of the stars and bars should be able to keep flying the Confederate flag. It is true that much blood has been shed on the American flag, but the difference is that America was founded on an idealistic notion of equality. (Sure, the founding fathers only had white men in mind when they drew up the Declaration of Independence, but that’s another article.)

There have been good and bad and hard won battles about who gets all of the rights afforded to Americans and hence defining what makes an American. The Confederacy, however, was explicitly created for the purpose of propagating white supremacy and keeping black people enslaved. That’s it. It has nothing to do with sweet tea and magnolia trees.

Also, Ms. Cooper, to your assertion that slavery was a choice … no. Just no.

There is work to do to dismantle white supremacy and get closer to the utopian notions of equality that this nation was founded upon (only this time, the utopia would be inclusive of all races and genders).

The brave Bree Newsomes of the world will keep putting in that work, but please, put down the flag.

-Demetria

Think what you like...life is great for me and that is all that matters......I've been a Dr. for 19 years now, have my health, sanity and the easiest 6 figures+ ever...I am grateful and appreciative of those who fought for me to be in the position I am.....I'm not letting you nasty azz racist white conservatives turn my life into your miserable schit..you've been bitching the last 6-7 years...I have to realize that everything has/is going my way and that I need to let you all share your misery with each other and not me.......

**See a black lady defending the flag-she suffers from Stockholm's Syndrome**

http://thegrio.com/2015/07/03/confederate-flag-defenders-history-heritage/

Opinion
by Demeteria Irwin |

The Confederate battle flag is a symbol of white supremacy and hatred. This is not some extreme left-wing, Obama super fan interpretation of it. This is a statement of fact. As Ta-Nehisi Coates succinctly and eloquently pointed out in his Atlantic piece, the Confederate states were very clear on their reasons for seceding from the Union.

Louisiana, for example, specifically noted that slavery was the primary motivation for secession.

“As a separate republic, Louisiana remembers too well the whisperings of European diplomacy for the abolition of slavery in the times of an­nexation not to be apprehensive of bolder demonstrations from the same quarter and the North in this country. The people of the slave holding States are bound together by the same necessity and determination to preserve African slavery.”

No secessionist flag should fly over any nation. Period. The war was fought, and the Confederacy lost. It’s over. The Confederate battle flag is a memento from the losing side. The oft-mentioned reason for holding on to the good ol’ stars and bars is that it’s not about racism or slavery (please see the above quote), bt rather Southern pride.

There are numerous reasons to be proud about Southern heritage — the meals cooked with equal amounts of butter and love, music that flows from the muddy bosom of the Mississippi River straight to the soul and awe-inspiring, natural wonders that no man-made structure could even begin to match. Southerners should be proud about those contributions to the world. But the Confederate flag does not represent those wonderful cultural gifts. That garish red flag with a blue cross slashed across it, waved over battlefields during the Civil War as Confederates took and lost thousands of lives in the name of the states’ right to preserve slavery.

Confederates sacrificed many sons to maintain the cruel and inhumane practice of chattel slavery — an institution embedded in white supremacy. And though slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, its effects still reverberate today in all facets of life, such as banks red-lining majority black neighborhoods, colorism, de-facto segregation and school resources doled out unfairly along racial lines.

All of these poison fruits come from the tree of white supremacy, the notion that black people are inherently less than white people. That is what the Confederate flag represents. Feeling pride about the Confederate flag equates to believing in white supremacy. That is a dangerous concept, and in recent weeks, this country has seen the ugly violence of “proud” Confederate flag devotees.

So, Ms. Karen Cooper, when your fellow flaggers and Tea Partiers trot you out at rallies and events with your brown skin and flowing locks, it is not because they believe all black people are great and equal to them. They believe you are “different” (and gullible).

It was painful to watch that video and hear you speak with gratitude and awe about white people smiling and saying hello to you in the South and how that was when it became clear to you that white people weren’t so bad. Of course all white people aren’t bad. Every race contains people with diverse sets of values, morals and behavior. And as a great songwriter once said, “Respect is just the minimum.”

But you somehow made the leap from understanding that there are good white people to embracing a symbol that represents hatred of people who look like you. As an African-American woman, you almost certainly have enslaved ancestors. Your ancestors suffered under the violent tyranny of slavery. That flag you so proudly wave was flown on battlefields for men fighting to keep your ancestors physically, mentally, culturally and financially shackled. How can you celebrate that?

People like to note that a lot of government-sanctioned cruelty has been done under the American flag, so if we keep flying that, lovers of the stars and bars should be able to keep flying the Confederate flag. It is true that much blood has been shed on the American flag, but the difference is that America was founded on an idealistic notion of equality. (Sure, the founding fathers only had white men in mind when they drew up the Declaration of Independence, but that’s another article.)

There have been good and bad and hard won battles about who gets all of the rights afforded to Americans and hence defining what makes an American. The Confederacy, however, was explicitly created for the purpose of propagating white supremacy and keeping black people enslaved. That’s it. It has nothing to do with sweet tea and magnolia trees.

Also, Ms. Cooper, to your assertion that slavery was a choice … no. Just no.

There is work to do to dismantle white supremacy and get closer to the utopian notions of equality that this nation was founded upon (only this time, the utopia would be inclusive of all races and genders).

The brave Bree Newsomes of the world will keep putting in that work, but please, put down the flag.

-Demetria