“South Carolina taking down the Confederate flag — a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future,” Obama said via Twitter following the flag’s removal from state Capitol.
South Carolina taking down the confederate flag — a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 10, 2015
On Friday, thousands gathered around the South Carolina Capitol to watch officials remove the flag symbolic of America’s slave-owning past, after Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill to remove the flag a day earlier.
In recent weeks, the state’s House of Representatives and Senate overwhelming voted for the removal of the flag.
“Courage in South Carolina – a divisive symbol comes down. The healing continues. God bless the Mother Emanuel victims and their families,” Vice President Joes Biden tweeted on Friday.
Courage in South Carolina – a divisive symbol comes down. The healing continues. God bless the Mother Emanuel victims and their families.
— Vice President Biden (@VP) July 10, 2015
Meanwhile, several states with specialty Confederate flag license plates have pulled the controversial symbol or are debating its removal. US retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, Sears and eBay have also announced they will stop selling the Confederate flag.
The Confederate flag, also known as Stars and Bars, represented the Confederate States of America, an unrecognized confederation of slave-owning states in the south of the United States. The confederation was formed in 1861 in opposition to Abraham Lincoln’s presidential platform that stood against slavery in the United States.
