A black college student is under heavy criticism for displaying a Confederate flag in his dorm room window, saying he sees the banner as a symbol of Southern pride and not racism. HUH???
19-year-old University of South Carolina Beaufort student Byron Thomas has drawn nearly 70,000 views since he posted a video online acknowledging “I know it’s kind of weird because I’m black.”
According to Thomas, a class project made him rethink the flag’s current meaning. He said he wants people to reconsider issues of race and to rethink their reactions to such symbols. “When I look at this flag, I don’t see racism. I see respect, Southern pride,” he said. “This flag was seen as a communication symbol” during the Civil War.
University officials asked Thomas to take the flag down just before Thanksgiving after students and parents logged multiple complaints. But recognizing his right to freedom of speech, the university revoked their request and told him he could replace the flag if he chose.
Aside from enormous criticism from students and their parents, Thomas’ own parents don’t like the flag, which concerns him since they pay his bills. “I don’t want to make my parents mad,” he said.
Aside from disliking the label the Confederate flag has taken on, Thomas also doesn’t like the term “African-American,” which he says makes him feel like “a half-citizen,” since he wasn’t born in Africa. Hmmm…
Looks like someone at the university or some civil rights official needs to have a long, heart-to-heart talk with Byron Thomas, to teach him a bit more about history and the struggles of his own people — because this young man is obviously lost and confused!
MUST SEE VIDEO BY BYRON THOMAS:
<span>Re: ANY Black-American choosing to embrace the Confederate Flag (much like ANY Black-American choosing to join the Republican Party) Nope..smh. I don't get it??? Re; Black-Americans preferring to self-identify as "Black-American" rather than "African-American" Now THAT? I get. In fact, it's how I choose to self-identify</span>