Eighteen days after urging her state’s lawmakers to remove the Confederate flag from the front lawn of the statehouse, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has signed the measure approved by both houses and today the banner is to be lowered for the last time. It all comes in response to last month’s massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston — a murder spree that’s been labeled a hate crime. The debate has opened old wounds and renewed discussions about a symbol that some call a reflection of Southern pride and others call a reminder of slavery and oppression.
