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IPFS News Link • Racism

National Movement to Lower Flag of Racial Hatred, 150 Years Overdue

• http://www.commondreams.org, by Lauren McCauly

One hundred and fifteen years after the end of the American Civil War and despite decades of calls for its retirement, the Confederate Flag—the emblem of the Old South and its racist legacy—may finally be coming down.

In the days following the horrific massacre of nine black people at a church bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, images were shared widely of the 21-year-old killer Dylann Roof posing with the flag.

The shock of the brutal and racially motivated killings coupled with a growing Civil Rights movement has seemingly catalyzed a wave of condemnation which has swept the U.S., with politicians and others—who for years have defended the flag as a symbol of Southern pride and heritage—all joining in the national call for a boycott.

In South Carolina on Tuesday, lawmakers voted to take up legislation to remove the flag from statehouse grounds, one day after Republican Governor Nikki Haley made similar remarks.


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