The Georgia flag flap is all

but over. A majority of both the Georgia House of Representatives and

the Georgia Senate voted to do away with the current Georgia state flag,

which features the Georgia seal and the so-called Confederate "battle

flag," and, in its place, adopt the new flag which may become known

for its clutter if not for its beauty.

The governor of Georgia, Roy

Barnes, laid his political career on the line, as did a majority of the

mostly white Georgia legislative body, in order to retire the flag.

The measure was heavily pushed

Veterans. Anyone who was not personally or emotionally involved could

easily see why the NAACP was up in arms over this symbol of the Old South

which flew over every public place and why the SCV was equally upset that

a symbol revered by their ancestors was being attacked.

Just for clarification, it

should be remembered that the flag just retired was instituted in 1956

As a native Southerner, but not a native Georgian, it seems to me that,

shot a collective obscene gesture at the feds.

Good people have disagreed

over the flag issue and good people will continue to disagree over the

way the governor and the legislature handled this most recent event. Nevertheless,

the controversy surrounding the Georgia flag is over. Good. Let's move

on.

However, all of this leads

me to ask two questions. The first is this: Will it now be permissible

for those of Southern ancestry to display the symbols of their heritage

without being targeted as bigots or racists? Can a public school student

now wear a T-shirt, or baseball cap, or display a bumper sticker with

the Confederate flag on it? What if the student is an honor student, a

member of the basketball team, and a member of the student council, but

also happens to be a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans? Or will

this student be sent home or expelled for wearing "symbols of hate"

as so many have in recent years?

For the uninitiated, the Sons

of Confederate Veterans is not a supremacist group, an Aryan nations organization,

or a subsidiary of the Ku Klux Klan. The SCV is composed of men and women

whose grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers, and

other relatives were members of the military of the Confederate States

of America.

The SCV upgrades Confederate

cemeteries and burial sites, restores statues, works to educate people

about Southern ancestry, writes articles and books on the War Between

the States, participates in reenactments of long-ago battles, and expresses

pride in their ancestors in a variety of ways. By and large, they are

hard working and honorable people.

There are nearly 4,000 SCV

members in Georgia and most are not racists or bigots. Yet, they often

find themselves lumped by the media together with the KKK, the Aryan groups,

and other dangerous hate organizations.

My great-great grandfather,

Private Alexander Epps, who worked a small farm in "Poor Valley"

in Hawkins County, Tennessee fought with the Confederates. Like some 80

percent of the Southerners of that day, he owned no slaves. In his mind,

he fought against an invading army from the North that burned, pillaged,

raped, and conquered.

Or are all symbols of the Old

South to be eradicated from memory? Are all the streets honoring Confederate

soldiers to be renamed, are their portraits and statues to be torn down,

and is Stone Mountain to be sandblasted smooth? Are native Southerners

to hide their heritage and are they expected to hang their heads in shame?

The second question is this:

Will the black leadership now, finally, turn to issues of substance rather

than symbol? Did the removal of a Confederate symbol on Georgia's flag

(the removal of which I advocated, by the way), or the removal of the

flag from South Carolina's capitol building, do one thing to address the

question of why 25 percent of back males are in the criminal justice system?

Did the victory this week deal

in any way with the fact that some 70-80 percent of black children have

no father in the home? As the DeKalb Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown, an African-American,

questioned so forcefully prior to his assassination, did the resolution

of the flag issue deal with the alleged misdoings and corruption among

so many black elected officials? Does the flag change undo the damage

done in and to the black community by the revelations of the immorality

of leaders such as the Rev. Jessie Jackson?

Most of the African-Americans

that I know personally, have expressed similar questions in my presence.

One professional person said, "I am so sick and tired of our leaders

talking about things that don't matter. I don't care about the flag but

I do care about the future of my children and the future of my community."

Both black and white Americans

should have the liberty to feel pride in their heritage and to honor the

memory of their ancestors. Both black and white Americans should work

for justice, equality, and an end to bigotry. Both black and white Americans

need to cut each other some slack, try to see things from the other's

point of view, and treat each other with respect and dignity.

Some symbols of the Old South,

like the Confederate battle flag on the Georgia flag, need to be removed.

The flag is the property of all citizens, not just the majority. The SCV

needs to understand that reality.

But a display of Confederate

symbolism by the descendants of Southern soldiers does not mean that those

same people are racists or bigots. One can be a true believer in equality

and freedom, yet love the symbols of their forefathers. The NAACP needs

to understand that reality.

The flag issue in Georgia is

over. Let's move on.

[David Epps is rector of Christ

the King Church in Peachtree City. He may be contacted at [email protected]

or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]