On Monday, Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina called for the removal of a Confederate battle flag from the State Capitol grounds.
In the days after the shooting of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church, Gov. Haley avoided the addressing the question of whether or not she thought the flag should be removed. The shooting prompted renewed calls for the flag to be removed.
“It’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,” the governor said speaking at the Capitol. The governor said residents have the right to display the flag on private property but, “the State House is different, and the events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way.”
While many in the state consider the flag part of the state’s heritage Gov. Haley said, “for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally racist past.”
The issue of the Confederate flag has been debated for decades. In 2000, state officials decided to fly on the American and South Carolina flags over the State House and place the Confederate battle flag in front of the building after a boycott led by the N.A.A.C.P.
In the days after the shooting of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church, Gov. Haley avoided the addressing the question of whether or not she thought the flag should be removed. The shooting prompted renewed calls for the flag to be removed.
“It’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,” the governor said speaking at the Capitol. The governor said residents have the right to display the flag on private property but, “the State House is different, and the events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way.”
While many in the state consider the flag part of the state’s heritage Gov. Haley said, “for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally racist past.”
The issue of the Confederate flag has been debated for decades. In 2000, state officials decided to fly on the American and South Carolina flags over the State House and place the Confederate battle flag in front of the building after a boycott led by the N.A.A.C.P.