DUNIA Magazine

If you believe that actions speak louder than words, then the bold move by 30-year-old social justice activist Brittany Newsome today to remove the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House grounds spoke volumes.

At a time when racial tensions in the United States are at a boiling point, following the racially motivated killing of nine Black worshippers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, many Americans are growing increasingly impatient with the pace of political action.

Explaining the protest, the #KeepItDown campaign, with which Newsome was affiliated, stated: “We took this task in our own hands because our President, Governor, mayors, legislators, and councilmen had a moral duty to remove the flag but failed to act… We could not sit by and watch the victims of the Charleston Massacre be laid to rest while the inspiration for their deaths continue to fly above their caskets.”

According to Rolling Out, Newsome, a classically trained pianist since a young age, graduated from New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television.

For many Americans, the Confederate battle flag is a deeply divisive symbol. Supporters have often described it as representing Southern heritage and memory of Confederate soldiers. Critics argue that the flag is inseparable from the Confederacy’s defense of slavery and has long been used as a symbol associated with white supremacy, racial oppression, and intimidation. Its continued display on state property has become the focus of renewed national debate following the Charleston church shooting

IN THE NEWS

NAACP STATEMENT ON #BLACKLIVESMATTER ACTIVIST WHO TOOK DOWN SC CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG

June 27, 2015

BALTIMORE, MD — Today #BlackLivesMatter activist, Brittany “Bree” Newsome, wearing rappelling gear, climbed the flagpole atop Columbia, South Carolina’s Capitol dome and removed the Confederate Battle Flag, in an act of civil disobedience. South Carolina Department of Public Safety arrested Bree, 30, along with her companion, James Tyson, also 30. Both were charged with a misdemeanor–defacing a monument. A new flag went up within an hour. Subsequently, the NAACP has issued the following statement:

From Cornell William Brooks, NAACP President and CEO:

“For 15 years, the NAACP has called for the removal of the Confederate battle flag and has maintained economic sanctions against the state of South Carolina. The NAACP, Governor Nikki Haley, a bipartisan coalition of policymakers, an expanding number of American businesses, and a courageous young woman named Bree Newsome are all united in opposition to the Confederate flag. Ms. Newsome temporarily removed the flag flying in front of South Carolina’s state house. As well as supporting the permanent removal of the flag legislatively, we commend the courage and moral impulse of Ms. Newsome as she stands for justice like many NAACP activists including Henry David Thoreau, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and numerous Americans who have engaged in civil disobedience. The NAACP calls on state prosecutors to consider the moral inspiration behind the civil disobedience of this young practitioner of democracy. Prosecutors should treat Ms. Newsome with the same large-hearted measure of justice that inspired her actions. The NAACP stands with our youth and behind the multigenerational band of activists fighting the substance and symbols of bigotry, hatred and intolerance.”

About NAACP
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities.