The Flag Isn't the Problem

Amani just wants to drop her son off for the summer. But a routine gas station stop in rural South Carolina turns into a quiet reckoning with race, performance, and the emotional cost of politeness.

In a town that feels stuck in another century, a seemingly harmless exchange with a local white man spirals into a staged moment of “mutual respect” that says more about survival than unity. The Flag Isn’t the Problem is a short story about perception, denial, and what happens when being friendly starts to feel like betrayal.