Confederate Flag MUST Come Down

States must take the Confederate Flag from government offices and buildings. This treasonous flag needs to be removed from government buildings, monuments as this flag is racist and represents racist heritage. Most people that mention heritage, forget that this is a heritage of hate.This flag and all different types of Stars and Bars flags represent the history of slavery and segregation. This flag represents the economy of the South, it represents the Institution of Slavery, it represents the fight against Civil Rights. When I see the Confederate Flag I think of treason and war. This flag represents actual secession and states leaving the Union. This flag represents over 600,000 deaths over the issue of slavery. The South as noted in the Cornerstone Speech or the individual Acts of Secession by Alabama, Mississippi and other states all point to Slavery as being the main point and reason. Those for the flag give facts that not everyone owned slaves or that the soldiers did not favor slavery. These are empty statistics. The South's economy, government, laws, trade, jobs were based on the agricultural economy of slavery. I hear the War was over states rights, well it was the state's rights to own and have slaves. Today the Flags are used by the KKK, League of the South and Sons of the Confederacy as a symbol of their "heritage" which is really white supremacy. People will say the racism is of the past but recent events show the KKK and other hate groups are on the rise. Southern Black Churches are burning down. Black men are dying in the hands of police or stand your ground laws. Much of the mass killer in Charleston manifesto is what people that fly the Confederate Flag believe. Maybe not all, but a good majority. Look at Southern policies-reducing welfare, arrests, voter ID laws, lack of jobs, not helping with medical care-all of these are directly aimed at southern black people even though they can hurt poor whites as well. They all have views that blacks are inferior, blacks are to blame for ills of the country. While these groups hate other groups like the Jewish People, most of the hate is towards blacks. The Confederate flag definitely causes a hostile work environment for any black american seeing this symbol of hate daily. It is a reminder of the not so distant history of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, lynchings and discrimination. I am not proposing like the Germans to outlaw the flag (maybe in the future), but lets put the flag in museum. Removing this flag will not stop racism or reduce discrimination, but it is a small beginning to show blacks that this symbol will not be part of government or hailed as a great symbol. It will not be treated just like the American flag but as a symbol of hate and secession. It is time to come down. It is time to remove the flag from buildings, license plates and government property. We are better than this.