Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, center in white, on the steps of the State House on Friday before state troopers permanently lowered the Confederate battle flag. Picture: Travis Dove NY Times.
The massacare of nine black churchgoers in downtown Charleston last month, and a gathering sense of outrage and offense that was felt even by many white conservatives who had previously supported the flag led to the end of an era and South Carolina lowered the Confederate flag, reported NY Times. The arrest of the alleged gunman, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, who posed proudly with the flag and apparently posted a long racist manifesto online before the massacre, was the flag’s final undoing.
Gov. Nikki R. Haley, who had asked the state legislature to change the law to allow the flag to be removed, walked onto the steps of the State House, joined by her husband, Michael; the Rev. Norvel Goff, the interim pastor of Emanuel A.M.E. Church; Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston; and two former South Carolina governors, David Beasley and Jim Hodges. The flag was lowered and removed. It will now be housed at the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, a state-supported museum near the State House.
Gov. Nikki Haley signs the legislation that will remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds during a ceremony Thursday at the Statehouse in Columbia. Relatives of the victims of the Charleston church massacre were among those present. GRACE BEAHM/STAFF
Jack Bass, an emeritus professor of social sciences and humanities at the College of Charleston. He called the flag lowering “a high moment for South Carolina” that could have some practical effect. Ms. Haley and other state officials have worked hard to lure multinational corporations and fuel job growth in recent years, and Mr. Bass said the state could have an easier time with that task now.