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Byron Thomas is 19, a freshman at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, an African-American and a proud Southerner. He hung a Confederate flag in his dorm room window until the university asked him to take it down because several people had complained about it. (The university later stepped back from the request, saying all students have the right to free speech.)
"I know it’s kinda weird because I’m black," Thomas said in an iReport he submitted. "When I look at this flag, I just don’t see racism. I see pride, respect. Southern pride, that’s what I see."
"Ignorance gave that flag a bad name, ignorant people like the KKK," he told CNN’s Don Lemon.
The post got other iReporters talking, including Omekongo Dbinga, who said Thomas has the right to fly the flag, but there’s no denying the flag’s history. Egberto Willies said he doesn’t understand Thomas’ view of the Confederacy, but he thinks the North and South both have ugly histories with race relations.
Thomas said he won’t put the flag back up, although he believes he has the right to do so. The university plans to host a discussion about the flag after students return from winter break.
Here’s what Thomas told CNN In America about the flag and why he probably won’t hang it up again.
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My Book: As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom Book’s Webpage: http://amzn.to/dt72c7 – Twitter: http://twitter.com/egbertowillies |
Black student defends his Confederate flag – In America – CNN.com Blogs
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