The Confederate flag shown flying at South Carolina's capital in a 2008 photo.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) signed a bill on Thursday that would effectively remove the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds.
The flag will be taken down at 10 AM on Friday, after which it will be stored and displayed at the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.
"The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina State House," Haley said. "We will bring it down with dignity, and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place."
Haley signed the bill after South Carolina's Senate approved the measure by vote on Tuesday, after which the House of Representatives also approved of the measure by a 94 to 20 vote. Reports say Representatives discussed the measure for hours, suggesting various amendments, which concluded with the vote past 1 A.M. on Thursday.
The recent shooting incident that occurred in Charleston, South Carolina that resulted in the deaths of nine African Americans, including a South Carolina Senator, was a significant trigger in resurrecting the long-time debate regarding the Confederate flag at the State House. The perpetrator of the Charleston incident, 21-year-old (?) Dylann Roof, was seen in photos with the Confederate flag.
Haley, who previously supported the idea of keeping the Confederate flag on State House grounds, was one of the first to demand that the flag be taken down after the incident. She signed the bill with nine different pens on Thursday, dedicating them to the families of the nine victims of the Charleston incident.
"Nine people took in someone who did not look like them or act like them," Haley said. "And with true love and true faith and acceptance, they sat and prayed with him for an hour. That love and faith was so strong that it brought grace to them and the families."
"We saw the families show the world what true grace and forgiveness look like," she continued. "That set off an action of compassion by people in South Carolina and all over this country. They stopped looking at their differences and started looking at their similarities."
