Confederate Flag at South Carolina Statehouse to be Removed on Friday

The Confederate flag will be taken down from the South Carolina statehouse, where it has flown for over 50 years, and moved to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum on Friday morning. The South Carolina House of Representatives voted for removal early Thursday morning and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley signed the official bill on Thursday afternoon.

Haley has been calling for the flag's removal for several weeks. A national conversation on display of the Confederate flag was prompted after 21-year-old Dylann Roof killed nine people at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Roof's actions were racially motivated and photos were found of him with Confederate flags.

The debate on the Confederate flag in the South Carolina House reached an emotional peak on Wednesday night when Rep. Jenny Horne stepped up to the podium.

"I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful, such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday," Horne said through tears.

Debate has raged across the country about what the Confederate flag represents and how it should -- or should not -- be displayed. Those against the display of the Confederate flag say its link to racism and slavery cannot be ignored and should not be celebrated. Activist Bree Newsome climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina statehouse and manually removed the Confederate flag on June 27. She was arrested as soon as she climbed back down and charged with defacing a monument.

Those who support the flag say it is a sign of southern history and pride. Confederate flag supporters have held rallies in various cities in the south. The Ku Klux Klan is planning a rally with the white supremacist Loyal White Knights group for the Confederate flag at the South Carolina statehouse on July 18.