I took this shot back in October of 2011 while on a road trip in the North Carolina Mountains. I kept noticing how many people seemed to be more proud of their racist Southern heritage there than they were of their American heritage. This shot is a visual explanation of how I came to that conclusion.

There were many yards I saw that were proudly flying the Confederate flag in some way or another. Some were just tiny, like this one. And others – well – it appeared to me that some of these people put up a flag pole on their property JUST so they could fly their confederate flag from it. There was no sign of an American flag being flown as well at these places. Just the Confederate flag.

It’s my understanding that some Southerners see nothing wrong with this. It’s just southern pride – a sign of their heritage. That’s all. No biggie. Well, I promise you that you don’t see any Germans proudly flying a Nazi flag in their yards over in Germany – for good reason.

So, is this really just an expression of Southern pride by these people, or, are they trying to say they still favor the oppression, slavery, and systemic racism that the Confederate flag represents to many people?