How a founding father and an age-old flag became the latest symbol of America’s culture war fuelled by Trump

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In a statement, Galvin, who is white, said the observance allowed the city to engage in "a national and regional dialogue on Jefferson's complex legacy that embodies both the promise of equality and individual freedom and the reality of white supremacy and oppression, thereby reflecting the many deep-rooted contradictions embedded in American culture and society today." Joseph J Ellis, author of the Jefferson biography "American Sphinx," noted that Jefferson's words in the Declaration of Independence have remained central to the nation's values, evolving with American society's notion of equality. "Jefferson is the most resonant figure in US history" because of his words in the Declaration of Independence, though he was a "racist who believed black people were inferior," Mr Ellis said. Over the years, the Confederate flag has been "a widely and carelessly used symbol of many things, including the South as a distinctive region, individual rebelliousness, a self-conscious 'redneck' culture, and segregation and racism," Mr Coski wrote in his 2005 book, "The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem."