The Past As Prelude: The League of the South and the Origins of the Neo-Confederate 鈥淐ushman鈥� Flag
Nearly three years ago, the League of the South abandoned the Confederate Battle Flag (CBF) in favor of a blacked-out adaptation created by a former member.聽A recent blog post by League president Michael Hill titled 鈥淧ast, Present, and Future鈥� attempts to rationalize the group鈥檚 reversal of their stance on the CBF and to qualify their use of the new flag alongside the Confederacy鈥檚 vaunted icon as part of a larger, deliberate shift towards 鈥淪outhern Nationalism.鈥�
鈥淸W]e now have adopted a Southern nationalist flag 鈥撯�撀燼 black St. Andrews cross on a white field鈥攖hat is The League鈥檚 own banner,鈥� Hill wrote. 鈥淚t is not intended to replace any of our historic Southern/Confederate flags; it is merely our own contribution. It is a symbol that belongs uniquely to us as a Southern nationalist organization.鈥�
Hatewatch has already reported on the League of the South鈥檚 hypocrisy concerning the CBF.聽Further examination of the League鈥檚 complicated relationship with the creator of their flag-du-jour 鈥撯�� the 鈥淐ushman Flag鈥� 鈥撯�撀爏hows that the League remains firmly entrenched in a reactionary neo-Confederate movement currently undergoing an identity crisis.
Until recently, Hill and other LOS leaders went to lengths to distance themselves from the CBF, which after nearly 100 years of dormancy. Preparing to embark on a new campaign of public demonstrations and aware of the CBF鈥檚 historical baggage in 2013, the League sought a symbol which wouldn鈥檛 scare away potential recruits.
While there were numerous flags flown by individual Confederate regiments and adopted by the various states, Hill wanted something fresh. Enter the Cushman Flag.
In creating his flag, Michael Cushman drew on the St. Andrew鈥檚 Cross, which is featured in the CBF and various . His bare bones iteration consists of a black saltire emblazoned on a white banner. The Cushman Flag first began to appear publicly in 2013, adorning the shirts, signs, and trucks of LOS members at rallies across the Southeast. During this period, the CBF was conspicuously absent.
But the League鈥檚 public efforts to distance itself from the CBF were short lived. Almost overnight, after the massacre of nine black parishioners in Cushman鈥檚 home state of South Carolina, the League positioned itself as the primary defender of the flag as calls grew nationally for its removal as a symbol in the public square. A typical League demonstration now consists of scattered lines of flag-poles with the CBF and Cushman Flag born aloft along highway shoulders.
So who is behind this new flag?
During his time in the League, Cushman was one of their leading intellectuals, described in his speaker鈥檚 biography for the 2013 League National Conference as having 鈥渁 bachelors in history and studied teaching in graduate school.鈥� He was also at the time a dues-paying member of the National Alliance, once the largest racist organization in the United States and a testing ground for some of the racist underground鈥檚 most notable killers.
Cushman left the League last year, but that doesn鈥檛 mean he quit the movement. His new website, 鈥淪outhern Future,鈥� functions as a portal to sell copies of his new book on the origins of the 鈥淪outhern Nation.鈥�
There are clear parallels between Cushman鈥檚 vision of a 鈥淪outhern Future鈥� and the League鈥檚 own. The bulk of their messaging centers around the 鈥淪outhern Nation,鈥� which they claim is composed of a racially, culturally, and ethnically distinct 鈥淪outhern people.鈥� Both advocate for political autonomy as a cure for society鈥檚 ills and the perceived slights against the Southern people 鈥撯�� multiculturalism, egalitarianism, and the expansion of Federal authority in pursuit of those aims. Both feature the Cushman Flag prominently on their websites.
These similarities contradict Michael Hill鈥檚 claims that the League is different than other neo-Confederate groups. In fact, changing the League鈥檚 banner has done little to change the nature of the group, especially with Hill鈥檚 increasingly racist rhetoric and the League鈥檚 open embrace of violent tactics.
Although Hill claims the Cushman Flag in his attempt to repackage the League as a 鈥淪outhern Nationalist鈥� organization, that flag鈥檚 history in the larger narrative of the Neo-Confederate movement helps distinguish fantasy from reality.
Michael Hill and the League have reversed their stance on the CBF multiple times, based on a calculated response to the national and international climate. They continue to wave the Cushman Flag in spite of his departure and comparatively calm rhetoric. Any attempt on the part of Hill to excuse that reversal amounts to whitewashing inconvenient history.
While it may be unclear which banner Hill will tout a year from now, one thing remains certain, that he will leverage whatever he can to drive membership.
