Auspicious Transformation

Having heard so much about his hometown, I welcomed the business trip to Jackson, Mississippi, not far from my husband’s old stomping grounds. Candidly, I also looked forward to a bit of a retreat, being somewhat of an introvert. I breezily checked in at the majestic lobby desk and sauntered toward the hotel elevators. Once in my room, I kicked off my exhausted heals, retired my stuffy suit jacket and pulled the curtains open. Basking in the southern light that poured in, I nearly missed the image that stared back at me. A staunch, draping flag enshrined the steeple of the state capital building. The hairs on the back of my neck went congruent with the alarm sounding in my mind. Instant fear, panic even. I looked around, suddenly uncomfortable in my surroundings. I forced the curtains closed and sat puzzled. “Is that really a confederate flag?!?”, I thought to myself flabbergasted. Besides old “Dukes of Hazards” episodes, I had never really seen the symbol so boldly placed. I suddenly had a nagging suspicion that I was the only person in the vicinity dismayed. I immediately phoned my husband.

“Babe, you won’t believe what I saw outside my hotel window! A confederate flag! And it’s on top of a government building!” With calm resolve, I heard my husband’s resistant acquiescence as he recited what was undoubtedly imbued in the indigene of Mississippi. “Yes, they have that there, although I did not really experienced racism growing up. The flag is just a part of the State’s heritage.” He went on to explain that people have largely accepted or ignored the implication in order to avoid civil discord.

Keeping the peace was understandable. Still, the coalescence of my background and training, being both a native New Yorker and an attorney, only allowed for moral rejection of a notion so vile and so inflammatory. I thought, despite First Amendment rights, there were too many countervailing issues, chiefly the “fighting words” doctrine, that would thwart protection of this emblem.

Well, as I carried on that evening, I noticed citizens strolling by with no hint of recognition of this artifact of hate. They too were inculcated with the veil of inaction. Sadly, this occurred in 2009, over a century after the end of slavery. In fact, the relic originated around 1860, shortly after Abraham Lincoln was elected president and the Civil War ensued.

Even though our nation has slowly changed in make-up, ideology and dictates, obdurate sects have held on to this fabric, some hoping to redefine its meaning to something more palatable. Unfortunately, the flag has such deeply-rooted attachment to segregation and the xenophobic that both time and reframing have failed to cleanse its redolence. Now, catapulted by the recent shooting deaths of nine congregants of the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina by a self-confessed white supremacist, unending calls for the abrogation of the confederate designation have been met with swift action by major corporations and open debate among political figures.

From a practical standpoint, are we shielding ourselves from open and apparent ideas, circumstances or people who champion division, intolerance or violence? Are we standing on the right side of history? Are we moving in acceptance and love? The family members of the deceased nine could have easily fallen into the race war intended by the shooter. Rather, they claimed their forgiveness, thrusting the nation’s support behind them. Only in God’s Kingdom is that remotely possible. Such evil was combated with even greater grace.

So, even in our daily living, our moral caliber will be tested. There, our true character is revealed. Stand for what is right and see God’s blessings effectuate change.

Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”