← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · confederate_commando
Thread ID: 18963 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2005-07-02
2005-07-02 22:52 | User Profile
CONFEDERATE FLAG TIMELINE
A look at the political battles over the Confederate flag flying atop the State House. It was removed five years ago today:
Before 2000
1962 ââ¬â With little fanfare, lawmakers resolve to fly the Confederate flag over the State House dome to recognize the Civil War centennial.
1983 ââ¬â Then-Rep. Kay Patterson, D-Richland, sponsors a resolution to take the flag down. It fails 52-44.
1993 ââ¬â Attorney General Travis Medlock rules that no law mandates that the flag must fly over the State House.
1994 ââ¬â NAACP says it will organize national economic sanctions against South Carolina unless the flag is removed.
1996 ââ¬â Then-Gov. David Beasley proposes moving the flag to a monument on the State House grounds.
1997 ââ¬â In Columbia, 500 religious leaders march in support of moving the flag.
1998 ââ¬â Democrat Jim Hodges unseats Beasley, winning votes of many flag supporters who felt Beasley betrayed them.
1999 ââ¬â The national NAACP calls for tourists to boycott South Carolina until the flag is removed.
2000
Jan. 8 ââ¬â Six thousand people demonstrate outside the State House in support of the flag.
Jan. 18 ââ¬â More than 46,000 people march to the State House to demand its removal; President Clinton says the flag should come down.
Jan. 20 ââ¬â In his State of the State address, Hodges says the flag should be taken down.
April 7 ââ¬â Charleston Mayor Joe Riley concludes a 120-mile, five-day anti-flag walk to the Capitol.
April 13 ââ¬â Senate votes 36-7 to remove the flag from the State House dome and place a square version on a pole behind the Confederate soldierââ¬â¢s monument at Main and Gervais streets. A month later, the House concurs.
May 23 ââ¬â Hodges signs the law removing the flag from the State House dome.
July 1 ââ¬â Two Citadel cadets lower the Confederate flag from the State House dome at noon. Flags also are removed from the House and Senate chambers. The new flag is placed on a flagpole at the Confederate soldierââ¬â¢s monument, where it still flies. [url]http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/12029849.htm[/url]
NOT JUST S.C.
Here is how other states have handled their flag issues:
GEORGIA
ââ¬Â¢ In 2001, Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes persuaded the General Assembly to approve a new state flag on which the Confederate emblem is far less prominent. Barnes lost re-election in 2002 and said opposition to changing the flag was a contributing factor.
ââ¬Â¢ Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said during his campaign against Barnes that voters should decide whether to restore the past flag, with its more prominent Confederate emblem. But lawmakers in 2004 decided not to include the question on a statewide ballot. They and Perdue say the issue is decided.
ALABAMA
ââ¬Â¢ In 1992, a state lawmaker won a lawsuit to force the Confederate flag from atop the State House. Gov. Jim Folsom, a Democrat, refused to appeal. The flag was removed in 1993, and Folsom lost his re-election bid in 1994.
MISSISSIPPI
ââ¬Â¢ In 2001, voters opted to keep the Confederate emblem in the state flag. The next year, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat who had supported removing the emblem, lost to Republican Haley Barbour, who supported keeping the emblem within the flag.
FLORIDA
ââ¬Â¢ Hoping to head off controversy, Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, in 2001 had a Confederate flag removed from the grounds of the Capitol and moved to a museum.
ââ¬â Lauren Markoe [url]http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/12029850.htm[/url]
:furious: