Excerpt
SUMMARY: After 54 years flying at the South Carolina state house, the Confederate battle flag is coming down. The state legislature voted to remove the flag after pressure grew in the wake of a mass shooting at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. William Brangham reports on how the change is resonating in Washington.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour): It was a moment that many, on both sides of the issue, thought would never come: the Governor of South Carolina signing a bill to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from the state capitol grounds.
GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), South Carolina: We are a state that believes in tradition. We’re a state that believes in history. We’re a state that believes in respect. So we will bring it down with dignity, and we will make sure that it is put in its rightful place.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Governor Nikki Haley’s actions mean the flag will be lowered tomorrow and taken to a museum for display. All this follows 13 hours of debate in the state House that went into the early hours of this morning. Lawmakers from both sides gave impassioned pleas, many of them, like Representative Jenny Anderson Horne, in favor of bringing down the flag.
JENNY HORNE (R), South Carolina State Representative: I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful, such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Others, including Representative Eric Bedingfield, objected to its removal.
ERIC BEDINGFIELD (R), South Carolina State Representative: I understand that there are differing views on what a symbol represents. It grieves me too that some people see that in a hurtful and dishonorable fashion.
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