Blog #10- "Dying for Dixie"
The root cause of Michael Westerman's death was all of the racial hate and ignorance that had been building in Guthrie for the years before. That hate created "racial tension" or "racial friction". The intense hate that the two side had for each other was very obviously shown at the beginning of the article when the reporter described the scene in the "white bar" where there were various adornments reading offencive statements and phrase such as, "I've Got A Nigger In My Family Tree".

Proportionally, this created hatred in the black community on the issue as well. So when Westerman flew the confederate flag, which by now had become a symbol of hate in the black areas of Guthrie, that was simply a catalyst for the mayhem that followed.
A very clear example of the ignorance in the situation was the fact that the white population (in this case) saw themselves as a minority and an underdog which was clearly not the case. One clue from the text that this issue is obvious in are all of the quotes from the white klu klux klan member who has been quoted as saying things like, "we shall overcome" referring to the white population of Guthrie.

The conflict between races in America has always been something people attempt to mend however no matter how long it takes or how hard we as a society try, the racial tension and conflicts will never fully be erased.