On June 17, 2015, Dylan Roof murdered nine African-American leaders and members of the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church. It is said that Dylan murdered the nine African Americans to start a race war. Soon after, the debate to take down the Confederate flag in South Carolina began.

People began to rally dressed head-to-toe in Confederate-flag attire while holding their flags up proudly. The opposing side held up signs using the hashtag #takedowntheflag, pleading that the flag be taken down. Bree Newsome, an African-American woman, took matters into her own hands by climbing the pole the Confederate flag waved on and taking it down. She was later arrested and the flag was placed back up.

There will always be multiple sides to every debate or story. The side in support of the Confederate flag believes the flag is a representation of history and heritage. The side that opposes it believes the flag is yes, history, but is also derived from a time of hatred, hardship, and white supremacy.

Republican Representative Jenny Anderson Horne’s statement made during her speech on the statehouse floor was a passionate plea for the flag to be taken down.

She later made a few statements that I want to highlight:

“It’s not about ‘oh, my great-grandfather was killed in the civil war and he gave his life.’ That’s not what we are here to talk about. What we’re here to talk about is what’s in the here and now. And in 2015, that flag was used as a symbol of hatred,” Horne told the "Washington Post."

“It’s time to take it down and put it in a museum,” she said. “We’re not fighting the Civil War anymore. That war has been fought. It’s time to move forward and do what’s best for the people of South Carolina.”

(Credit: The Washington Post)

The Civil War and Confederate flag have many different meanings to different people. The vote by the South Carolina House is not stopping people from having their own Confederate flag to wave in their time.

To the supporting side of the Confederate flag, you are free to wave your own flag as you please; the government is not stopping you from doing so.

To the opposing side, congratulations, your call to action has been accepted, and the Confederate flag will no longer wave on the South Carolina statehouse grounds.