NAACP Boycott of South Carolina

The display of the Confederate flag is costing South Carolina big-time.

The illuminated flag flies on the South Carolina State House grounds in Columbia near the Confederate Soldier monument and is located just 200 feet from the African-American Monument.

As James Gallman, president of the South Carolina Conference of Branches of the NAACP, said: "The racial attitudes that permeate the halls of government in South Carolina refuse to give way to more enlightened thinking. The common thread between this issue and the Confederate flag debate is the blatant disrespect for people of color in South Carolina."

PLEASE...I URGE YOU to join the NAACP in the South Carolina boycott until this symbol of racism and bigotry is removed from a position of sovereignty. Please do not travel to South Carolina and do not spend your hard-earned money there. I've talked previously about "voting with your wallet," and this is the quintessential opportunity for you to voice your opposition to this racist, hurtful and humiliating symbol in South Carolina.

There is no need for South Carolina to cling to and perpetuate its racist past. Until the state decides to take a bold and courageous stand against this symbol, racism and xenophobia will continue to flourish in South Carolina.



Above: The Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina

Click HERE to learn more about the NAACP boycott of South Carolina.

Click HERE to learn more about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

NAACP TO CONTINUE SOUTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), today said the economic sanctions being imposed on the South Carolina tourism industry would continue until the state General Assembly votes to remove the Confederate flag from a position of sovereignty.

"While the South Carolina General Assembly has taken an important step toward removing the Confederate flag from atop the Statehouse, actions by both the House and Senate fall far short of bringing finality to this issue," said Mfume.

Over the weekend and early today, NAACP officials met with legislative leaders in South Carolina in an attempt to convince the General Assembly to approve a consensus on legislation to remove the flag from a position of sovereignty.

"It is now time for the South Carolina General Assembly to amend the Senate proposal to remove the flag and approve one of three options: encase the flag in the Confederate relic room at the University of South Carolina, erect a granite and bronze monument emblazoned with an emblem of the flag or display the flag as one of several carried by South Carolinians during battle in the major wars."

The NAACP has worked to have the Confederate flag removed from a position of sovereignty since it was first flown atop the statehouse in 1962.

"Unfortunately," Mfume said, "the South Carolina legislature has chosen to avoid seriously working to resolve this issue until now. But the House vote to illuminate the flag on a 30-foot flagpole on the statehouse grounds was an insult and a slap in the face of all people who want an end to the division of the races in South Carolina over this issue. It's now up to the state Senate."

Mfume said the battle over the Confederate flag was always more than an issue of simply taking it down from the statehouse. The NAACP Board of Directors approved a resolution in 1999 that called for "the removal and relocation of the Confederate battle flag to a place of historical rather than sovereign context."

James Gallman, president of the South Carolina Conference of Branches of the NAACP, said: "The racial attitudes that permeate the halls of government in South Carolina refuse to give way to more enlightened thinking. The common thread between this issue and the Confederate flag debate is the blatant disrespect for people of color in South Carolina."

The South Carolina tourism industry has lost more than $100 million since economic sanctions were enforced beginning January 1, 2000. Many national and regional organizations and entertainers have canceled meetings in the state, including: the National Association of Federal and Postal Employees, the New York Knickerbockers basketball team, the American Bar Association, Southeast Conference United Church of Christ, the National Urban League, Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Founded in 1909, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter registration drives and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Contact: NAACP Office of Communication 410-486-9227