wfn.org | South Carolina Officials Respond to ELCA Bishops' Boycott Support

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 13, 1999

SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICIALS RESPOND TO ELCA BISHOPS' BOYCOTT SUPPORT
99-249-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Confederate Battle Flag issue is "a very
divisive and painful issue for South Carolina," and the controversy
about its placement atop the state capitol must be solved by the South
Carolina legislature, wrote Democratic Gov. James H. Hodges in a Sept.
27 letter to the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
     The letter is one of several sent to Anderson in response to a
letter he sent to the South Carolina governor and members of the South
Carolina General Assembly, as directed by the 1999 ELCA Churchwide
Assembly which met Aug. 16-22 in Denver.  The assembly asked Anderson to
communicate to the lawmakers its affirmation of an action by the ELCA's
Conference of Bishops not to hold a meeting in Charleston, S.C.  The
bishops were considering meeting there in March 2000, one of at least
two regularly scheduled meetings they hold annually.
     The Conference of Bishops includes bishops of the ELCA's 65
synods, the presiding bishop and the secretary of the ELCA.
     The bishops declined to meet in South Carolina in support of a
nationwide boycott called for by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  The boycott  resulted from
unsuccessful attempts by the NAACP to persuade the assembly to cease
flying the Confederate Battle Flag from atop the South Carolina capitol,
known as the State House.  It called the flag a symbol of oppression.
     The ELCA South Carolina Synod assembly has twice called for
removal of the flag.  The Rev. David A. Donges, bishop, Columbia, S.C.,
said the synod office received "hundreds" of calls, e-mails and letters
in response to the bishops' action.  Reactions were mixed, he said,
adding that some Lutherans were among those who were displeased with the
bishops' action. Anderson's office has also responded to a number of
questions from people unhappy with the bishops' action.
     The Confederate flag has been a serious issue in South Carolina,
said Donges, who proposed the bishops stay away from his state. "Some
folks are not happy with you," Donges said to the bishops during their
Sept. 30-Oct. 5 meeting here, adding, "What we did is an important voice
in this continuing issue."
     In his letter to the lawmakers, Anderson said the bishops did not
intend to be punitive.
     "We are ... aware that some citizens of the state regard the flag
as a symbol of heritage rather than racism," he wrote. "Yet we believe
that the heritage can be honored in a way that would not exacerbate
painful memories for others."  Anderson urged the lawmakers to continue
deliberating removal of the flag from the capitol "to a place which
would honor its heritage."
     Hodges said he met with NAACP leaders recently to discuss the
issue, and, at their request, canvassed the lawmakers to determine their
feelings about the issue.
     "While I personally believe the Confederate flag should be moved,
this matter clearly has to be resolved by the legislature," Hodges said
in his response to Anderson.
     State Sen. John E. Courson, R-Columbia, S.C., wrote that he
introduced legislation in 1994 to move the flag to a monument near the
State House.  It passed the South Carolina Senate without objection but
failed in the state's House of Representatives.  Similar legislation
failed three years later, and Courson said Hodges would not initiate
legislation about the flag.
     "There has been no debate in the General Assembly on the proper
venue for displaying the Battle Flag in over five years," Courson said.
"Frankly, without a strong initiative led by the governor, the status
quo will continue to exist."
     State Rep. Walton J. McLeod, D-Little Mountain, S.C., wrote there
is a plan to build an African-American History Monument on the State
House grounds, and he believes, after its scheduled dedication in
February 2000, others will seek to erect a monument to the Confederacy.
     "In my opinion, that monument is the appropriate site for
recognition of the flag or flags of the Confederacy," McLeod said.  He
also said he believes that will happen if a Confederate monument is
built.
     "Meanwhile, at the present time, I support leaving the Confederate
flag in its present posture until such time as there is an appropriate,
existing site to which the flag can be relocated," he wrote.
     "I know that organizations like yours becoming involved will go a
long way toward helping us resolve this difficult situation," said State
Rep. C. Alexander Harvin III, D-Summerton, S.C., in a brief response to
Anderson.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html