The article outlines the evolution of two waves of protests over the Confederate flag around 2000 and in 2015 in Southern States，and tries to explore how the racism continues to have a material impact on the lives of African Americans in the nationwide through the case study of the confederate flag dispute. Recognizing the recent uprising against the Confederate flag is a welcome development，the article argues that it will likely be a long-term battle to thoroughly uproot the ideas what the confederate flag represents.