The purpose of this lesson is to engage young students in thinking about the complexity of socio-historical symbols in the present day. After careful preparation, the authors decided to teach about the decision by the state legislature in July 2015 to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds. Presenting the Confederate flag as a persistently controversial symbol helps young students understand that, in a democracy, it is important to pay attention to how citizens reconcile differing ideals and values. The outcome of such a lesson should not be simply asking students to name whether the flag represents something "good" or "bad." Rather, the emphasis should be on helping students to see that symbols carry complicated meanings that could spur civic disagreement. Further, in a democratic society, engaged and informed citizens can discuss a controversial issue and then use the democratic process to reach a resolution.