The funeral of Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at TD Arena on the College of Charleston campus. College of Charleston President Glenn McConnell not ready to speak out about the StarsnBars.
McConnell, a former Republican leader of the state legislature and lieutenant governor the South Carolina, used to run a Confederate memorabilia shop, and was an ardent supporter of flying the Southern Cross (aka StarsnBars) on statehouse grounds. President McConnell was appointed ot this role (in aschool under crtiicism for racism) by the current Governor, Nicki Haley,.
College of Charleston officials told HuffPost that McConnell doesn’t expect to comment until after the funerals for the slain churchgoers. A number of other Presidents have seemingly reluctantly, and certainly belatedly, agreed to remove the damned thing from the Capital but few, if any have made the same commitment to removing the damned thing from the grounds of their colleges.
There is one huge exception to the rule of South Carolina’s colleges not being willing or able to go all the
way: The Citadel, has now decided to remove the StarsnBars from its chapel. (link by William Quick).
The Citadel, (aka, The Military College of South Carolina) is a state-supported, military academy, one of the six Senior Military Colleges in the United States. Established in 1842, today and integrated corp with all races and men and women, pursues bachelor’s degrees .
On January 28, 1861 the Corps of Cadets became the Battalion of State Cadets and part of the Confederate Army. Cadets manned heavy guns and performing guard duty. The Battalion of State Cadets participated in eight engagements during the Civil War.
After the defeat of the South, the Citadel was closed during Reconstruction. It reopened as white only college in 1882. In 1966, seventeen-year-old Charles DeLesline Foster became the first Black to join the Citadel Corps of Cadets.
The removal of that damned flag 160 years after White cadets from that school fought for the South, has great meaning.
Resolution Concerning the Confederate Battle Flag on State House Grounds
Whereas, the tragic events of June 17, 2015, occurred in Charleston, our beloved home city, and near our campus footprint;
Whereas, the city of Charleston lost nine pillars of our community, including Cynthia Graham Hurd, a longtime librarian and exceptional educator at the College of Charleston;
Whereas, the College of Charleston has and continues to play an integral role in the healing process of our city, our region and our state;
Whereas, members of the General Assembly have passed a concurrent resolution “concerning the South Carolina Infantry Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America and surrounding arrangement located at the Confederate Soldier Monument on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex;”
Whereas, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the College of Charleston and represents the institution;
Be it resolved, the College of Charleston Board of Trustees supports the efforts of the state’s many political, civic and business leaders in urging for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House grounds.
http://today.cofc.edu/2015/06/24/board-of-trustees-approves-resolutions-concerning-church-tragedy-and-confederate-battle-flag/
There is a nasty summary of this ..”that is damned white of them.” The first thng they should do is remove their President. NO ONE wiht his history ..no academic back ground and a life long celebration of racism, is fit to be president of a state university. Second, as cmpaus they cna ban display of the disgraced flag on any campus building. They can and should do that too.
President McConnell Issues Statement on Confederate Flag
25 June 2015 | 10:35 am
By: Ron Menchaca
Contact: Mike Robertson, Senior Director of Media Realtions, 843.953.5667
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Statement from College of Charleston President Glenn McConnell:
I served with Senator Clementa Pinckney in the South Carolina Senate since he joined that body in 2001. He was a friend of mine and many other senators. His big smile lifted our spirits and his powerfully mellow voice conveyed great intelligence as well as a kind and loving heart.
During this period of grief, before Reverend Pinckney and the eight other Christian martyrs killed by a hateful terrorist have yet to be buried, I had hoped to avoid commenting on political issues. However, the rising tide of emotion over Governor Nikki Haley’s call to remove the Confederate soldier’s flag from State House grounds and numerous requests for me to comment have made a respectful period of silence on political issues impossible.
So here is where I stand: About 15 years ago, when I was a state senator, my colleagues and I forged a bipartisan and biracial compromise. We removed the Confederate soldier’s flag from atop the State House dome and relocated it behind the Confederate soldier’s monument, a place of historic – not political – context. We also erected an impressive monument celebrating the many African American contributions throughout our state’s history. And we passed the Heritage Act, to protect both Civil War and Civil Rights monuments, street names and building names all across the state. Our plan was designed to end acrimony and move our state forward with a spirit of good will and mutual respect. As imperfect as all compromises are, it lasted for 15 years.
Today is a different time. In the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that spilled the blood of nine souls within the hallowed halls of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church, the time has come to revisit the issue of the Confederate soldier’s flag, which a number of our citizens regard as offensive.
Many other citizens regard the old soldier’s banner as a fitting memorial to the Confederate dead. However, on State House grounds, we should seek to respect the views of all citizens as best we reasonably can.
Therefore, I support Governor Haley’s call to remove the Confederate soldier’s flag from State House grounds as a visible statement of courtesy and good will to all those who may be offended by it. At the same time, I also urge all public officials and activists who are focusing on this issue to come together, the way the good people of Charleston joined hands following the terrible tragedy we suffered, and agree not to transfer the fight to other physical vestiges and memorials of our state’s past. In a spirit of good will and mutual respect, let us all agree that the monuments, cemeteries, historic street and building names shall be preserved and protected. How sad it would be to end one controversy only to trigger a thousand more.
The people of South Carolina are entitled to their complete history, the parts that give us pride as well as sadness. We learn from our past and we grow from exploring our shared history.
If we all insist on it, this experience can mark the beginning of a new era. Let us all pledge to respect each other and stand together in firm opposition to any efforts to sanitize, rewrite or bulldoze our history.
Here in South Carolina, there has never been a time when our nation’s motto was more needed than it is today: e pluribus unum: “out of many, one.” If those of us alive today can find a way to understand and respect and forgive each other, only then can we truly pay honor to the martyrs who were slain last week while they prayed together in a house of worship.
http://today.cofc.edu/2015/06/25/president-mcconnell-issues-statement-on-confederate-flag/
He STILL has not accepted his own guilt or ordered all Starsnbars removed from the College. If he were a Jew, I would call this letere a shanda.