Confederate Flag in front of the South Carolina capitol is finally coming down.
It's official.
The Confederate flag flying on South Carolina’s statehouse grounds is set to come down after the House voted 94-20 to remove it. The bill, passed early Thursday morning, now heads to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk and she is expected to sign it.
After more than 13 hours of debate — which became increasingly contentious as the night wore on — House Republicans and Democrats agreed not to amend the legislation with a proposal that threatened to make final passage more difficult.
The final vote was 93-27, which clearly represents a bi-partisan majority, but also represents the reality of South Carolina in that 27 members of the house, and likely their constituents, feel the Confederate flag should remain in front of the capitol. Earlier in the week, a state senate vote on the same matter was 36-3 in favor of its removal.
While it is easy for many to dismiss this step as merely symbolic and thus somehow unimportant, I beg to disagree. Removing the Confederate flag obviously doesn't end racism—no one step will do so—but when our government makes the insult of African Americans' public and acceptable, it is but one step in the justification of the mistreatment of an entire race. Piece by piece, we must dismantle, remove and make difficult, any symbols or policies or practices rooted in racism.
When Martin Luther King said that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," it was him making a point that injustice matters, no matter when it happens, however small the instance, because it erodes the very cause and principle of justice. This was a hard fought battle and we should celebrate this victory.
Now, let's move on with the same vigor to the next fight for equal justice in America.
1:31 PM PT (Laura Clawson): South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has signed the bill, and the flag is scheduled to come down Friday morning.