The shooting of nine black churchgoers in Charleston has revived demands that South Carolina stop flying the Confederate flag on the grounds of the statehouse, an issue that still divides residents of a state haunted by its legacy of slavery.
The flag of the Confederacy, a blue saltier emblazoned with white stars on a red background, has fluttered near the state legislature since the early 1960s, when it was put up during the peak of the civil rights movement.
The 150-year-old flag was originally used as a Civil War battle flag by the seven slave states that broke away from the Union in 1861. But those calling for its removal say the banner is an inappropriate symbol because of its racist associations.