Key moments in the flag debate

S.C. lawmakers agreed to move the flag from the State House dome in 2000 after it had flown there for 38 years.

Flag goes up. The Confederate flag is placed atop the State House dome in 1962, flying below the South Carolina and American flags. The flag is raised to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Civil War, but many think an all-white Legislature raised the flag as a symbol of resistance to racial integration.

Bill filed to remove the flag. A bill filed by African-American lawmakers to remove the flag is filed in 1993. The bill creates heated discussion but gets no traction in the General Assembly. South Carolina is the only state to fly the Confederate flag atop its capitol.

GOP voters want flag to stay. In June 1994, three out of four Republican voters said they wanted the flag to remain atop the State House dome. The question was put to Republican voters only in a nonbinding referendum in the GOP primaries that year.

Beasley's change of heart. In November 1996, on the eve of the legislative session, Republican Gov. David Beasley goes on statewide television to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from atop the State House dome. Beasley asks lawmakers to put the banner at the soldier monument. In a rebuttal, Republican Sen. Glenn McConnell of Charleston likens Beasley to Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister who disastrously compromised with the Nazis during World War II.

Confederate flag gridlock. Both the 1997 and 1998 legislative sessions could not escape the flag debate. Attempts at a compromise failed during both years. Even a lawsuit brought by the city of Columbia had failed to advance the issue toward compromise.

King Day at the Dome. Roughly 50,000 protesters show up at the State House in 2000 on the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. It is the largest civil rights demonstration in S.C. history.

Compromise reached. Lawmakers reach a compromise in May 2000 to remove the flag from the State House dome and place it at the soldier monument. The House agrees only after insisting the flag be placed on a 30-foot pole, ensuring its visibility. The NAACP opposes the compromise, arguing the flag should be placed in a museum and the 30-foot pole would make the flag too visible.

Flag is lowered. The Confederate flag was removed from the State House dome on July 1, 2000.

HOW OTHER STATES HAVE COMPROMISED

The Confederate flag has been an issue in the Deep South, as states wrestle with how to deal with a flag that is both a symbol of Southern pride and Southern bigotry.

GEORGIA

In 2001, Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes persuaded the General Assembly to approve a new state flag on which the Confederate emblem is far less prominent. Barnes lost re-election in 2002 and said opposition to changing the flag was a contributing factor.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said during his campaign against Barnes that voters should decide whether to restore the past flag, with its more prominent Confederate emblem. But lawmakers in 2004 decided not to include the question on a statewide ballot. They and Perdue say the issue is decided.

ALABAMA

In 1992, a state lawmaker won a lawsuit to force the Confederate flag from atop the Capitol. Gov. Jim Folsom, a Democrat, refused to appeal. The flag was removed in 1993, and Folsom lost his re-election bid in 1994.

MISSISSIPPI

In 2001, voters opted to keep the Confederate emblem in the state flag. The next year, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat who had supported removing the emblem, lost to Republican Haley Barbour, who supported keeping the emblem on the flag.

FLORIDA

Hoping to head off controversy, Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, in 2001 had a Confederate flag removed from the grounds of the Capitol and moved to a museum.