On June 23, 2015, nine Black worshippers were murdered in a white supremacist attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Prior to the shooting, the gunman, Dylann Roof, had posted photos of himself online brandishing the Confederate Battle Flag and burning or defiling United States flags.[1] In the wake of the attack and the circulation of these photos, new attention was brought to the Confederate flag flying on statehouse grounds in Columbia, S.C.
The Winston-Salem Chronicle observed this controversy closely, regularly republishing Associated Press (AP) reports, editorials, and cartoons. These articles provided the timeline of events and captured both sides of the flag issue. But the Chronicle also published editorials which vividly demonstrated how many African-Americans saw the future of the flag tied up with the future of equality in the US.
One editorial, written by US Representative Alma S. Adams (NC-12) published in the Chronicle two days after the shooting, suggested that in response to the shooting, “we should put our faith to action, making a conscious decision to be more than empty drums that have long lost their melodies.” Adams continued,
In South Carolina, the Confederate flag—an unequivocal symbol of hate—remains on statehouse grounds. We must demand the flag be removed immediately—we cannot let icons of racism fly free within our society.[2]
That same day, the Chronicle published another editorial calling for the removal of the flag. The author, James B. Ewers, Jr., called the flag a symbol of enslavement and remarked that “it is difficult for me to see how justice and equality can prevail when there is a symbol of injustice that serves as a constant reminder.”[3] If South Carolina wanted to make progress on race relations following the shooting, he argued, the flag needed to come down.[4]
A cartoon by African-American illustrator Ron Rogers, also printed in the Chronicle, expressed a similar criticism. The cartoon depicts a jail cell, the bars of which have been ripped open. The cell is labeled “Racism, Hate”—the occupants that had broken free. A Confederate flag flies atop the cell. In front of the cell two men stand guard, with one saying to the other “I thought we had this under control.” The cartoon mocks the notion that any place that flies the Confederate flag has successfully tamed the powers of racism and hate.[5]
The governor of South Carolina quickly joined the call for the flag’s removal. According to an AP report reprinted in the Chronicle, Governor Nikki Haley proclaimed that the flag’s use as a hate symbol by Roof “made it too divisive to display in such a public space.”[6] Haley remarked that she hoped removing the flag would allow the state to “move forward in harmony.”[7]
Although she acknowledged the hateful way Roof had used the flag, Haley resisted labeling the flag itself as an inherently bigoted symbol. She stated,
For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble. The hate-filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect, and in many ways, revere it.[8]
This opinion was echoed by the head of the South Carolina branch of the Sons of Confederate veterans in a statement that was partially printed in the same AP report in the Chronicle. He implored the public to not “associate the cowardly actions of a racist to our Confederate Banner. There is absolutely no link between The Charleston Massacre and The Confederate Memorial Banner. Don’t try to create one.”[9]
On July 6, the South Carolina Senate voted 37-3 in favor of removal. According to the AP report on the vote, several white senators who had once supported the flag’s presence on Statehouse grounds, stated that they now understood “why their black colleagues felt the flag no longer represented the valor of Southern soldiers” but the brutality and racism of slavery.[10]
It was also up for discussion whether or not the pole itself would
remain standing. House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia,
expressed fear that any flag raised to the Confederate soldiers monument
would become “the new vestige of racism.”[11] On July 9, the South
Carolina State House also voted in favor of the flag’s removal and on
July 10, the flag was officially taken down.[12]
The Winston-Salem Chronicle reprinted a statement from U.S. Representative G. K. Butterfield (NC-1), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, applauding South Carolina for lowering of the flag. Butterfield referred to the action as part of “progress towards a brighter future.”[13]
Not everyone agreed that the flag’s removal indicated meaningful change. An AP article on the matter, reprinted in the Winston-Salem Chronicle, noted that Rev. Joseph Darby, a friend of one of the nine slain at Emanuel AME, thought it “a bit premature to declare this a new ‘New South,’ as some commentators have suggested.” Darby said he was hopeful it would be a first step in a journey towards bringing about real equality and justice, but asserted, “if nothing else changes, it’ll ultimately be cosmetic.”[14]
When former SC governor Haley began her presidential campaign in 2023, she received criticism from conservatives for her decision to remove the flag and from liberals for her refusal to condemn the flag itself.[15]
Olivia Haynie
References
Adams, Alma S. “Stand Against Evil Acts Of Violence and Hate.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, June 25, 2015.
Adcox, Seanna, et al. “S.C. Governor Calls on Removal of Confederate Flag From Statehouse Grounds.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, June 25, 2015.
Breed, Allen G., and Reeves, Jay. “Time Will Tell If Furling The Rebel Flag Means Deeper Change.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, July 2, 2015.
Butterfield, G. K. “CBC applauds S.C. vote to remove flag from grounds.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, July 16, 2015.
Collins, Jeffrey. “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, July 9, 2015.
Ewers Jr., James B… “The Killings in South Carolina are a setback in American race relations.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, June 25, 2015.
Racker, Mini. “The Role Nikki Haley’s 2015 Decision to Remove the Confederate Flag Could Play in Her Presidential Run.” _Time Magazine, _February 14, 2023.
https://time.com/6255503/nikki-haley-2024-confederate-flag/
Rogers, Ron. “Untitled.” Winston-Salem Chronicle, June 25, 2015.
Wikipedia. “Charleston church shooting.” Accessed on July 19, 2023.
Adcox, et al., “S.C. Governor Calls on Removal of Confederate Flag From Statehouse Grounds,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
(Adams, “Stand Against Evil Acts Of Violence and Hate,”) ↩︎
Ewers, “The Killings in South Carolina are a setback in American race relations,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Ewers, “The Killings in South Carolina are a setback in American race relations,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Rogers, “Untitled,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Collins, “37-3 S.C. Senate gives final OK to removal of the Confederate flag,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
(Wikipedia, “Charleston church shooting.”) ↩︎
Butterfield, “CBC applauds S.C. vote to remove flag from grounds,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Breed and Reeves, “Time Will Tell If Furling The Rebel Flag Means Deeper Change,” Winston-Salem Chronicle. ↩︎
Racker, Mini. “The Role Nikki Haley’s 2015 Decision to Remove the Confederate Flag Could Play in Her Presidential Run.” Time Magazine. ↩︎