First King Day event since flag’s removal to focus on education

The 2016 King Day at the Dome rally will focus on injustices in South Carolina, primarily in education, S.C. NAACP president Lonnie Randolph said Thursday.

The state has spent more than two decades “playing with a lawsuit,” Randolph said, referring to the S.C. Supreme Court’s ruling the state must do more to improve poor, rural schools – many predominantly black.

For the first time, the Confederate flag will not be fly on the State House grounds during a King Day at the Dome rally, which will be Jan. 18 next year.

Lawmakers voted to remove the flag in July, after nine Charleston church parishioners were slain. After the shooting, photos emerged of the suspect, a 21-year-old white male, posing with the Confederate flag.

“While we applaud not having the symbol of hatred, bigotry and white supremacy on our State House grounds,” concerns still exist, Randolph said.

For example, voter participation in South Carolina is low, a concern that will be addressed at the King Day rally. The NAACP will emphasize getting more voters to the polls for the 2016 presidential election, Randolph said.

Randolph also criticized the proposed $5.3 million cost to display the flag at the S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, saying that money should be used to pay for other needs, including flood relief. “They should take that $5.3 million and buy straitjackets for those people who support that.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 3:20 PM.