Old Glory's New Appeal to Blacks

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which may have killed close to 7,000 people, flag waving and public displays of patriotism can be seen all over the country. At baseball games, fans wave flags and sing "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch, and flags are draped outside homes and businesses.

And while historically African Americans have often felt ambivalent about expressions of patriotism, since September 11, 2001, like other US citizens, blacks have rallied around the flag and around their country.

"I think that the patriotism among black people that we are seeing is refreshing," said Jumoke Jones, a 27-year-old executive assistant at a large investment banking firm. "Some people are jumping on the bandwagon, but I think it is okay because this is the only time some people may be feeling that they are a part of the country."

For a younger generation of African Americans like Jones, now may be the first time they have felt such a level of identification and belonging in their national homeland. In the absence of national conflict, younger blacks have often felt like outsiders in America as they have had to deal with America's history of racial oppression and remnants of racial discrimination that are an everyday reality.

But the terrorist attacks, which killed people of all racial backgrounds, religions and nationalities, have forced many African Americans to come to grips with their Americanness.

"Being an African American and dealing with racism from the age of nine, I never considered myself an authentic American, whatever that is," said Adisa Banjako, a hip hop journalist. "As I learned more about my African heritage and my religion, which is Islam, I felt even more alienated from whatever the essence of what America is. But I realized that on the day of the bombing, had I been on the plane, my blackness and Islamicness were negated and I would have been just as dead as everyone else."

While still a critic of some US policies, Banjako said he has become a full-fledged American as a result of the attack, a transformation shared by countless other blacks who may have grudges against American policy, but who have decided to bury their antagonism for the good of the country.

"It has been rather refreshing for people to put aside differences and for people to rally around things we have together, such as family and faith," said Kweisi Mfume, head of the NAACP on Fox News. "It has united all of our country."

While the national crisis has united most Americans, some African Americans have questioned America's commitment to freedom and justice in light of its historic mistreatment of blacks and some of its foreign policies. And many blacks who take pride in their nationality and pledge to defend their country have expressed reservations about America's march towards war. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) cast the lone congressional vote against granting the President backing in the war effort, and prominent African American writer Michael Eric Dyson has said that while he supports bringing those responsible for the attacks to justice, "declaring war on Afghanistan is as corrupt as the original act of aggression."

And in one Florida county, three black firefighters were suspended when they expressed reservations about displaying an American flag on their truck. "What the flag means to white America is totally different from what it means to myself," one of the firefighters told a local newspaper. "As a black man in the country, as someone being subjugated, as my ancestors who have been mistreated so, of course I have reservations about the American flag." Though their reasons for objecting to displaying the flag are disputed (they say the flag was obstructing their view), the three firefighters have been ostracized and threatened because of their objections. "You have freedom here as long as it goes along with the program," lamented one.