The South Carolina Confederate Flag: The Politics of Race and Citizenship

Abstract

The interest group and social movement mobilizations to remove the Confederate flag, which had been flying since 1962, from atop the South Carolina State Capitol dome provides an instance where large, issue‐specific coalitions successfully expanded the scope of a conflict and framed an issue in a universalistic discourse of inclusive citizenship. The groups and movements seeking to keep the flag on the dome of the capitol experienced cascading defections in part based on a narrow vision of history, the political context, and goals for the future. Based on seventeen in‐depth interviews with interest group activists; key members of the South Carolina legislature: and educational, religious, and business leaders active in the issue along with observations at five pro and anti‐flag demonstrations and rallies, this study seeks to explain how the effort to remove the Confederate flag was partially successful. The analysis includes media attention from 1962 to 2000 in South Carolina regarding the Confederate flag and public opinion on the flag over time. Prior interest group work helped prepare the terrain for the mobilizing effects of several galvanizing events—the NAACP tourism boycott and national media attention during the highly contested 2000 Republican primary in the state, which in turn pressured institutions—parties, the legislature, and the governor—to respond. The struggle was an instance of applied philosophy.