Should I Speak Up  About a Confederate Flag?

February 22, 2020

Illustration by Tomi Um

The Ethicist

Should I Speak Up  About a Worker’s Confederate Battle Flag?

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on calling out a contractor for displaying a racist symbol and whether your host is responsible for your stolen shoes.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah

I am a white woman living in a mostly white town and state. We needed a small roof repair, and my (white) husband hired someone who had done work for us before. This time, the head of the crew brought with him a worker who drove a truck with a Confederate battle flag prominently displayed. I was deeply offended.

My husband and I disagree about how this situation should be handled. I feel that as a white person, I have a responsibility to speak out against racist language and actions, and I try to whenever I am party to such.

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My husband, by contrast, believes that we have no right (or responsibility) to intervene in circumstances like these: The truck was parked in the street, not in our driveway, and nothing besides the presence of the flag suggested that one of the workers was a racist.

What should I have done in this case? Should I have spoken to the worker? His boss? Make sure not to hire this crew again? I believe that some kind of action on my part is my ethical responsibility.Read the Ethicist’s response here.

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