We are having the discussion about the South because a Confederate flag sits on state grounds in South Carolina. The flag became a focus after a hate crime. The initial response of the Governor was that we will deal with the flag later. The white Senator initially said the flag worked for a South Carolina. The black Senator was going to have a meeting after the funerals so South Carolina Republicans could tell him what to thing about the flag. Then they all had a change of heart. The first response to the outrage about the flag was the finger.

In the days after the massacre we had a white South Carolina Legislator tell us that the victims stood in line to be shot. The church resides on a street name after a Fugitive Slave Act promoter John C.Calhoun.The body of the slain church pastor was brought in a horse-drawn carriage past the Confederate flag flying on state grounds. The body lay in state under that Confederate flag. The President of the United States came to eulogize the pastor on the grounds of a university headed by a man who wanted the flag to stay in its original position atop the state Capitol building. The university President participated in a ball in 2010 wearing a Confederate officers uniform surrounded by black actors portraying slaves. As the President is shown, you remember that South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson was the guy who yelled, "You lie!" during the State of the Union Address. 

Bree Newsome took the Confederate flag down from its perch. Once on the ground, a black law enforcement officer had to face the indignity of arresting Newsome for pulling down a racist flag. Two black groundskeepers had to put the flag back up.

We would love it if the only actions in South Carolina were those of the employee and her boss. Unfortunately, we know that an unarmed black man was shot in the black by a North Charleston police officer while the murderer of nine black Christians was fed Burger King. 

In a recent poll, 50% favored removing the flag from state grounds. Fourth-six percent wanted the flag to stay on state grounds and 4% were undecided. There is not an overwhelming majority moved by the massacre. When asked if the flag represented Southern Heritage or racial hatred, most whites see the flag as Southern pride, most blacks see the flag as racist. Nothing changed after the massacre.