Governor Hodges' Confederate Flag Bill Signing Address

Governor Jim Hodges
May 23, 2000

Good evening, my fellow South Carolinians. I am speaking to you from your State House, in Columbia.

The Confederate battle flag was first raised above our Capitol in 1962. Over the last thirty-eight years, there have been many attempts to move the flag to another location.

Last July, the NAACP's call for economic sanctions brought attention to this matter. Their call for removal of the Confederate battle flag from the Dome was supported by numerous civic, religious and business institutions.

Tonight, I am pleased to report that the long debate over removing the Confederate flag from the dome of the State House is finally over.

Last week, the General Assembly passed a bill to move the Confederate flag from the State House Dome and from our legislative chambers.

This bill places an historically accurate flag at the monument to the Confederate war dead. This bill also protects historical monuments and street names across our state.

The compromise meets the challenge I set forth in my State of the State address in January. It moves the Confederate flag from the State House Dome to a place of historical context on the State House Grounds.

I want to thank the leaders of both the House and the Senate for making this compromise possible.

Our Democratic Senate President John Drummond led the Senate with great wisdom and courage during this difficult debate.

And without the leadership of Republican House Speaker David Wilkins, we would have been unable to reach this compromise.

I also want to thank our business leaders and the citizens of South Carolina … who demanded that this issue be resolved this year. Your voices were heard.

For the last few months, the eyes of the nation have been on South Carolina. Our state has been consumed by this debate.

Today, we bring this debate to an honorable end.

Today, the descendants of slaves and the descendants of Confederate soldiers join together in the spirit of mutual respect.

Today, the debate over the Confederate flag above the Capitol passes into South Carolina history.

In South Carolina, history is more than just dates in a textbook. For all of us … white and black … history lives on in family traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. And our history will also be remembered in another significant way on our State House Grounds. In the last month, we have broken ground on a monument to honor the contributions of African-American citizens to this state … the only such monument on a state house grounds in the United States.

We are proud to be South Carolinians. We have inherited a wonderful state from our ancestors. And we wish to make our state an even better place for our children.

The debate over the Confederate flag has claimed a great deal of our time and energy. We must now heal the wounds of this divisive debate. We must strive for reconciliation. We must now work together on the other challenges that confront our state.

We must continue our crusade to dramatically improve our public schools.

We must make prescription drugs more affordable … bring better paying jobs to every corner of our state … and teach our children the values of personal responsibility.

We must meet these challenges with willing hearts and ready hands.

Only then can we lead South Carolina into the bright promise of this new century.

Only then can we truly be one South Carolina … under two flags that unite us all … the American flag and the Palmetto flag.

I will now sign this bill into law.

This debate is over. Let us move forward together and united. God bless you, and God bless the great State of South Carolina.

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