Local leaders’ remarks on the Confederate flag at the SC Capitol

WRHI is polling local elected and appointed leaders in York County on the Confederate Flag flying at the South Carolina State House.

We have, and will continue to, compile their thoughts as we receive them. Here is a list of who we have contacted.

Robert Winkler, York County Council

First and foremost, this time should be spent focusing on the horrible murders of 9 of our citizens. Citizens who welcomed this stranger into their worship service with open arms. We should all be discussing the wonderful example that those family members and the city of Charleston set for us to follow. I would prefer to not take the focus off those murdered and their families but the following is where I stand. As a proud southerner the confederate flag represents a part of my southern heritage. That is what it represents to me but, unfortunately it has been used by others to represent hate and division. I believe it has a place in our annuals of history, and a museum. In the past I have supported it flying as a representation of what we have been through as a state. Since so many people and groups have adopted it to represent their perverted ideas, I now support removing it from the capitol grounds. The events of the past week have shown what we can do as a state when we come together. I think it is time to come together on this issue as well.

Sandra Oborokumo, Rock Hill City Council:

It’s time for the flag to come down.

Chad Williams, York County Council:

The last compromise actually increased its visibility. It’s about time we put it in a museum where it belongs.

Mayor Doug Echols, City of Rock Hill:

I am thrilled that our state is moving to take down the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds and that this national momentum can perhaps change the hearts of people everywhere for greater acceptance of all individuals. When I marched in 2000 for the flag’s removal from the top of the statehouse it never occurred to me that our legislature would then put it in such a prominent place. It is long overdue to be removed and so tragic that the Charleston events had to occur before even this symbolic action could be taken.

Debra Boyd, Acting President, Winthrop University:

The Confederate flag is both an historical artifact and a visceral modern symbol of racism and oppression. The time is right to put the flag in a museum where the past is neither forgotten nor exalted but used appropriately to educate. By moving the flag from the State House grounds to a museum, we demonstrate our resolve to move forward, together, as a people and a state.

Congressman Mick Mulvaney, R-SC:

I would like to start by saying that I am disappointed that the conversation in South Carolina — largely driven by those outside our state — has been focused on a flag, rather than the victims of a heinous crime and their courageous and forgiving families. While I always welcome debate on a divisive issue, I prefer that debate not come on the heels of a tragedy before the victims have even been laid to rest.

In part because of those concerns, I will admit that I have not been as quick to call for the removal of the Confederate Flag from the State House grounds as some others. I remember that the flag is where it is as the result of something that is becoming all too rare in politics: compromise. Indeed, moving the flag from the dome to the grounds in 2000 — and the concomitant establishment of the African-American monument — could be considered as a high point in South Carolina politics: a time when people got together and worked through their differences in a way that all could accept with pride.

And my initial reaction to calls to summarily remove the flag was that such an action would be tantamount to admitting what is not true for many South Carolinians: that the flag is a symbol of hate. Yes, it was for Dylann Roof. In fact, for him it was something even more evil than just hate. But we typically do not allow such people to define what our symbols mean.

But in speaking with many people over the course of the last few days, it has become clear that the flag does in fact mean different things to different people in our state. And I blame myself for not listening closely enough to people who see the flag differently than I do. It is a poor reflection on me that it took the violent death of my former desk mate in the SC Senate, and eight others of the best the Charleston community had to offer, to open my eyes to that. And because of those very different — and very valid — impressions of what the flag represented, I admit that the flag has become a distraction: something that prevents us from talking about all that is good about South Carolina. It strikes me as particularly disappointing, for example, that we have spent more time talking about the flag for the last few days than we have talking about the extraordinary display of faith, love, and forgiveness shown by the families of the victims of the shooting in Charleston. If the flag has become an excuse for people to ignore things like that, then perhaps time has come for a change.

I hope that the Legislature can do the same thing now that they did 15 years ago: take the time and effort to fashion a compromise that removes the flag in a way that all South Carolinians can rally around with pride and respect — and with the sense of community that has been on display for the world to see in Charleston in the aftermath of last Wednesday evening. By doing that we will once again have the opportunity to show everyone what is special about our state. Maybe with the flag removed, people will listen.

Finally, I will say this: there is no Confederate flag flying at the state capitol in Missouri, yet Ferguson had race riots; there is no Confederate flag flying at the state capitol in Maryland, yet Baltimore had race riots. There is a Confederate flag flying on the grounds of the state capitol in South Carolina, yet Charleston set an example for the world to marvel at in its response to this atrocity. And of that, I am extraordinarily proud. Perhaps those who are now trying to focus attention on the flag are spending their time on the wrong things.

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC:

In the worst of tragedies, we have seen the best of South Carolina. Today, I am urging that the Confederate Battle Flag be removed from statehouse grounds to an appropriate location. After the tragic, hate-filled shooting in Charleston, it is only appropriate that we deal once and for all with the issue of the flag. The love and forgiveness displayed by victims of this horrific, racially motivated shooting, along with all the people of Charleston, is an example to us all. The victims’ families and the parishioners of the Mother Emanuel AME Church reflect everything good about the Christian religion and the people of South Carolina. I hope that, by removing the flag, we can take another step towards healing and recognition – and a sign that South Carolina is moving forward.