This Friday July 10th at 10 am, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will take down the Confederate flag, a symbolic gesture in response to the June 17th murder of nine African-American churchgoers attending bible study at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Since the massacre, photos of identified shooter Dylann Roof surfaced in which he poses in front of a Confederate flag. Roof's white supremacist manifesto later revealed the already suspected belief that Roof's shooting spree was motivated by extreme racism.

South Carolina's flag has since been in hot debate, questioning whether or not it perpetuates a system of racism and segregation in the United States. A CNN poll finds that 57% of people believe the flag is a symbol of Southern pride while a similar poll reveals 55% of people support its removal from government property.

In a heartfelt testimony, Representative Jenny Horne expressed outrage that the South Carolina government was considering keeping the Confederate flag. "It is bittersweet because it took a tragedy to bring this body to this decision," Horne later explained in an interview with CNN. Horne says she didn't believe the flag would be removed in her lifetime, and emotionally explained how this marks an important milestone in the history of the South.

On Friday history will be made, and the flag will be removed from the South Carolina Statehouse. In the meantime, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi's state flags all contain the Confederate flag images. South Carolina's removal may in fact spark a movement across the country, as discussions continue as to whether or not this flag has a place in our government, or if its remnants should remain history.

For some, Larry Wilmore of The Nightly Show explained explained it the best: "It's a free country which is why we should take down the flag that says it isn't."

Tags
Politics, South carolina