Old Habits Die Hard: Neo-Confederates Raise Confederate Flag at S.C. State House...Again
S.C. Secessionist Party member Braxton Spivey of Charleston, South Carolina is joined by a fellow reenactor, and celebrity black Confederate Arlene Barnum, of Stuart, Oklahoma as he raises a Confederate flag up a portable flag pole during the Confederate flag raising event.
On July 10, 2017 the South Carolina Secessionist Party held a confederate flag raising rally on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in protest of the flag being removed in 2015 by 116th S.C. Governor Nikki Haley (R) in response to the Charleston Massacre carried out by Confederate flag sympathizer Dylan Roof. During this rally, various speakers touched on topics such as; southern heritage, confederate history, and distrust for politicians.
Out of all of the speakers that spoke, one speaker in particular stuck out with what would be considered as confusing rhetoric to those not familiar with her. This speaker was none other than Arlene Barnum from Stuart, Oklahoma.
celebrity black Confederate Arlene Barnum, of Stuart, Oklahoma speaks to participants of the Confederate flag raising event.
"Slavery! Slavery! everywhere I go around in South Carolina, slavery hit you in the face!" "Slavery! Slavery! I'm so sick and tired of that damn word Slavery, They need to take it out of the dictionary!" Arlene proclaimed.
To no surprise, her remarks were well received by the crowd eliciting loud cheers and yells. This wasn't the only questionable comment that Barnum made during the rally. After being called black, Barnum responded with "I'm not black I'm colored!". Many counter protesters questioned if she was on payroll due to her questionable commentary and loyalty to a period of history which was rife with white supremacy.
The attendance of both Confederates, and counter protesters were noticeably smaller this year. One could only hope that eventually, this conflict and the Confederate flag will be gone forever from the South Carolina State House Grounds.
