Taps For Confederate Flag

The days of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome appear to be numbered.

South Carolina's House has given final approval of a compromise that would remove the flag from the dome and place a similar banner at a monument to Confederate soldiers on the state capital grounds.

But the compromise - which heads back to the Democrat-controlled State Senate - doesn't satisfy black lawmakers, or the leaders of the tourism boycott against South Carolina over the flag issue.

"Unfortunately it's not over," said House Minority Leader Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who is black. "It's over for me, but I don't think it's over for the state."

Only three black House members voted for the compromise, which passed 62-to-48. In an odd coalition, black lawmakers and hard-core flag supporters joined forces against the plan during two days of debate.

"It's really just an insult to us," said James Gallman, president of the South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

"Certainly, this will not bring resolution to the issue," added Gallman, who vowed the tourism boycott would continue.

The NAACP says the flag is a racist symbol that should not fly from the dome - and it says the monument is too prominent a location in front of the Statehouse.

The flag was raised above the Statehouse in 1962 to commemorate the Civil War centennial, though critics suggest it also was done to defy the civil rights movement. Flag supporters say the banner is an important part of the Palmetto State's heritage.

House opponents of the compromise railed against the boycott.

"I don't think we need to do this today. I don't think we need to give in to economic terrorism," said Rep. Ron Fleming, a Republican from Jonesville.

And House Speaker David Wilkins said he had endured threats, harassment and intimidation over the flag.

"I'm simply not going to be bullied anymore," he said. Noting
that the June 1 adjournment date for the Legislature was close, Wilkins said, "We can't afford to let this bill fail."

"It was the hardest vote I ever cast," said House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, a flag supporter who cried after voting for the compromise.

Next step for the compromise is the State Senate, which has to approve House changes. The House version of the compromise lowers the flag July 1. The Senate bill would lower it as soon as the governor signs the measure.

Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, has said he would sign any bill the Legislature passes to remove the flag.

"We are one giant step closer to ending the flag debate," said Hodges.

Senate Majority Leader John Land said the Senate could insist on its version of the bill and send it to a conference committee to work out final details.

Still, with the versions so close, "I think, really, you'll have to say that this flag debate is over," said Land.

"I think i's really symbolic of the fact that South Carolinians and the General Assembly can work together and solve problems," he added.

As the House debated the flag bill Wednesday, protesters burned the Confederate and Nazi flags on the Statehouse lawn. The Confederate flag, like the Nazi emblem, "represents crimes against humanity," said Kevin Gray of the Harriet Tubman Read Street Freedom House Project in Columbia.