South Carolina Officials Respond to ELCA Bishops' Boycott Support

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