Confederate flag honors my ancestors - It hurts my feelings that people are against it

John Anthony Miller of Columbia, SC was one of a handful of protestors at a June 24, 2015 rally to encourage South Carolina's state legislature to remove the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds. One week earlier, a white supremacist who used the flag as a symbol for his hatred opened fire in the historic Mother Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, SC, killing nine. One day earlier, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) held a press conference to announce that, in her view, and in that of the state's two Republican U.S. Senators, the time has come for the flag to be moved off of public property.
Mr. Miller shared with me that he has a great grandfather who fought in the Civil War for the Confederate States of America, and that he also has a great grandfather who fought for the United States. He was gentle, passionate, and, in my view, genuine when he said that his affinity for the Confederate flag has nothing to do with white supremacy or resistance to the Civil Rights movement. He knows this is not true in all cases. For instance, he feels that white supremacy was the intended meaning when lawmakers placed the flag atop the capitol dome in 1962.
On a boiling hot afternoon, Mr. Miller stood in the sun for many hours, enduring insults from some, and entertaining questions from many. He never lost his composure or raised his voice in anger, and managed to demonstrate as well as articulate a perspective that is inspired by ancestral pride, rather than racial superiority or resentment.
-Eric Byler, Story of America
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