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Battleflag.org Dedicated to the preservation of Confederate heritage and the continued flying of the Confederate Flag over the South Carolina Statehouse.

Flag Fight
(June 5, 2000)

Last week Governor Jim Hodges of South Carolina signed a bill, turned to the TV cameras, and announced: "Today, the debate over the Confederate flag above the Capitol passed into South Carolina history."

But as much as Jim Hodges may want the debate to be over, it probably isn't.

As Hodges indicated, the debate concerns the Confederate flag-- specifically, the one flying atop the the state capitol building in Columbia, S.C. But it's also a debate over the nature and symbolism of confederate flags throughout the South.

The South vs. the North

Confederate flags obviously symbolize the Confederacy -- the coalition of southern states that tried to separate from the U.S. in the 1860s. Many southerners still consider that a noble effort, even though it failed. They believe the Confederate flag honors the veterans of the Civil War, and the history and independent spirit of the South. Many southerners say the flag honors the memory of their ancestors who fought and died for the south.

But the Confederacy wasn't just about southern independence. It also vigorously defended slavery.

Flags as Symbols

So does defending and celebrating the Confederacy celebrate slavery?

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the nation's oldest civil rights groups, thinks so. To them, the flag represents a history of oppression and enslavement, a history every bit as tragic as, say, the Holocaust in Germany. The flag is, in their words, "an affront to the sensibilities and dignity of a majority of African Americans."

The NAACP and its supporters also point out that the flag is widely used as a symbol of white supremacy, and a symbol of defiance against the civil rights movement.

Among other things the civil rights movement gave minorities the right to vote and guaranteed them equal treatment under the law.

It was only in 1962 -- a few years before the U.S. Congress passed the historic Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) -- that South Carolina first put the flag on top of the statehouse.

Flag supporters say it was raised that year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, which ran from 1861 to 1865.

According the NAACP, a flag above a government building is particularly offensive because it suggests that the government endorses all that the flag represents.

The Boycott: Fly vs. Buy

So the NAACP asked the South Carolina legislature to take down the flag. When the government refused, the NAACP organized a tourism boycott, or "economic sanctions," that started on January 1, 2000. They asked everybody who supported the NAACP-- people of all races -- not to visit or vacation in South Carolina.

Under the boycott, tourists spent a lot less money throughout the state. Many average business owners lost customers, and made less money. This put a lot of pressure on the legislature to take down the flag and end the boycott.

Finally, the South Carolina legislature passed a bill ordering the flag be removed from the Capitol on July 1 of this year. It was that bill that Jim Hodges signed in front of the TV cameras.

It's Not Over 'till it's Over

So why isn't the debate really over?

Because the bill that orders the flag taken down also orders-- as a compromise-- a new Confederate flag to be raised on a 30-foot pole at the nearby Confederate Soldier Monument. The monument is on the Statehouse grounds-- in other words, the flag is still flying on government property. The NAACP says this is unacceptable, and plans to continue its boycott.

Even if an agreement is reached in South Carolina, the debate continues elsewhere in the South. For example, the Confederate flag is incorporated into the design of the Georgia and Mississippi state flags, and many people think those flags should be redesigned to remove the Confederate symbolism.

A history of slavery is a difficult legacy to overcome. The debate continues-- in words, in the law, and in symbols.

--Contributed by Aaron Page

What do you think? Should the confederate flag fly above government buildings or on government property?

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