Plan to Move Confederate Flag Backed
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Black state lawmakers Monday backed the governor’s plan to take the Confederate battle flag off the Statehouse dome and move it to a monument nearby.
The 35-member black caucus was divided as late as last week over whether to go along with the plan, which Gov. David Beasley offered in hopes of resolving the bitter dispute.
“We recognize that not everybody is going to be satisfied in terms of this compromise, but it is a step forward,” said state Rep. John Scott, a Columbia Democrat and the caucus chairman. “It’s a beginning.”
The Legislature has yet to take up the proposal.
The Confederate flag has flown from the Statehouse dome since 1962. Critics say it is racially divisive and a symbol of slavery; supporters say it honors Civil War dead and is part of the state’s heritage.
Beasley, a Republican, gathered bipartisan support for the plan to move the flag to an eye-level monument on the Statehouse grounds.
In a statement of support, the caucus said the Legislature also needs to debate the future of Confederate flags inside the House and Senate chambers.
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