Hundreds protest as Confederate battle flag comes down in South Carolina

A new Confederate battle flag, smaller than the one taken down from the Capitol dome, is raised elsewhere on Statehouse grounds Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina

Whoops and hollers sound out as another goes up nearby

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 1:27 p.m. EDT (1727 GMT)

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) -- A crowd of 500 gathered at the South Carolina Statehouse Saturday to watch officials remove one of the South's most enduring and ominous symbols - - the Confederate battle flag -- from atop the Capitol dome.

"It's just history going down the tubes," said Phil Long, a flag supporter.

But moments after the banner came down, flag lovers whooped and hollered as a similar one -- replete with the familiar star-studded navy blue "X" on a red field -- was raised just outside the Capitol building near a Confederate monument.

MESSAGE BOARD The state of race relations     GALLERY Taking down one flag, raising another     AUDIO Listen to Statehouse reporter Scott Stroud describe how the NAACP took action to move the Confederate flag from the dome of the Statehouse 403K/37 sec. AIFF or WAV sound 179K/17 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

The event marked a compromise solution to South Carolina's contentious flag debate. The Legislature in May approved moving the flag from the Statehouse dome to the lawn.

For the opponents of the banner, the victorious battle to have the flag taken down from the dome was a limited one.

About 750 people, dressed in white, marched silently through downtown Columbia as part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's protest.

"This flag should not go in front of the Statehouse," Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, said Saturday.

Citadel cadets lowered the flag from the dome during a solemn noon ceremony. Afterward, a slightly smaller flag was raised by Civil War re-enactors on a new pole, inside a square enclosed by a black wrought-iron fence next to a Confederate monument on the Statehouse grounds.

Cadets from The Citadel carry away the Confederate battle flag that was atop the Capitol building

The banner was removed from the state Senate chambers Friday and sent to the State Museum. The House planned to follow suit on Saturday.

South Carolina raised the battle flag in 1962 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War.

Flag supporters view the 19th-century banner as a sign of Southern heritage. Opponents see it as a reminder of slavery and hate.

"There is a very strong sentiment among African-Americans that this flag is an offensive symbol, and they understand its connection with bigotry and oppression in America," said Dwight James, executive director of the state chapter of the NAACP.

The group says the compromise doesn't go far enough. It has been suggested that the banner be encased in glass so that it never again flies on South Carolina's most public lawn.

A battle flag supporter, face painted red, shows his colors dressed in a gray Confederate uniform on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina

The NAACP, which has staged an economic boycott of the state since January 1, says it is considering expanding sanctions to target the state's collegiate sporting events and burgeoning film industry.

The tourism boycott so far is said to have cost the state at least $20 million in lost revenue.

But finding broad support to continue the fight will be difficult, said Rick Silver, partner in a Columbia public relations firm who helped lead one of several anti-flag organizations.

"Most people just wanted to see some resolution, some change," Silver said. If not for the compromise, "it would have continued to be a divisive, ugly, distracting, harmful issue that would have taken away from everything else."

Some South Carolina officials and leaders agree a truce should be declared in the state's flag war.

"As far as we're concerned, (the compromise) brings finality to the issue," said Deb Woolley, spokeswoman for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was one of the most influential voices calling for the flag's removal from the dome, but it does not oppose the compromise.

Protesters of the compromise that allowed a second Confederate flag to be raised on Statehouse grounds march on Saturday

Gov. Jim Hodges, the only top official who took part in Saturday's flag relocation ceremonies, said most South Carolinians support the move that plants the flag at the most visible spot on the Capitol grounds.

"I think the boycott will die of its own weight," Hodges said. "At the end of the day, what has happened is the flag will be removed from the dome. "That, I think, is a significant step for our state."

Hodges predicted the NAACP may target the state of Georgia next. Georgia's state flag incorporates the Confederate battle emblem as well as the state seal.

Correspondent Brian Cabell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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