Here Are Some Confederate Symbols Across The U.S. That May Be Taken Down After The Charleston Massacre

The debate in South Carolina over removing lingering symbols of the Confederacy is spreading nationally.

The Confederate Battle Flag Outside South Carolina's Capitol Building

Rainier Ehrhardt / AP

After nine black people were murdered in Charleston's Emanuel AME church on June 17, attention soon turned to the Confederate battle flag flying on the South Carolina Capitol building's campus.

Alleged shooter Dylann Roof often posed with the flag. And it was used in an online manifesto about white supremacy thought to belong to the 21-year-old.

While other flags across South Carolina were lowered to half-mast in the wake of the murders in remembrance of those killed, the Confederate flag continued to fly at full mast. That's because state law controls the circumstances under which it could be lowered or removed.

Protesters and activists began calling for lawmakers to permanently remove the flag from the public grounds – a movement that gained momentum Monday when South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, and Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. all publicly called for the flag to come down.

Charleston's Post and Courier newspaper has created a live tally board showing the public positions of state lawmakers on whether the flag should be taken down.

The Design Of The Mississippi State Flag

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

The Mississippi state flag, which was adopted in 1894, features the Confederate battle flag in its upper left corner. In a 2001 referendum, voters overwhelmingly elected to retain the divisive symbol, which for many people, especially African-Americans, is seen as a pro-slavery emblem.

The push to change the state flag received a boost Tuesday evening when Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn released a statement calling for the flag to be redesigned. "We must always remember our past, but that does not mean we must let it define us," the Republican said. "As a Christian, I believe our state's flag has become a point of offense and needs to be removed. We need to begin having conversations about changing Mississippi's flag."

Mississippi State Sen. Kenneth Wayne Jones, who leads his state's legislative black caucus, told BuzzFeed News that a redesign of the flag was long overdue.

"It's a problem for every African-American in Mississippi that that is what's flying over our state," said Jones, who is also the chair of the state legislative black caucus. "At that time [in 2001] it was a very emotional issue, but I think if we put everyone at the table now with the right mindset of moving our state forward … you should be able to come up with something that doesn't offend anyone and still captures the historical impact of the Civil War."

BuzzFeed News has contacted the office of Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for comment.

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SOURCE: BuzzFeed