South Carolina legislators returned to Columbia on Monday to take up the fate of the Confederate battle flag that flies on Statehouse grounds amid debate over whether such symbols glorify racism and segregation or represent history and heritage.
The South Carolina law that allows the battle flag to fly in front of the State Capitol has come under scrutiny following the June 17 massacre of nine people -- including state Sen. Clementa Pinckney -- at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. The alleged gunman, Dylann Roof, 21, who had boasted of racist beliefs and had posed in photographs with Confederate flags and symbols, is being held on nine murder charges.