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2 Years After S.C.'s Flag Came Down, Cities Grapple With Confederate Symbols

A Confederate flag came down at the South Carolina statehouse weeks after the murders of nine people at a historically black church. Such symbols continue to generate controversy.
Memorials to Confederate leaders like Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, pictured, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee line Monument Avenue, a stately historic street in downtown Richmond.

Under a clear sky on July 10, 2015, the Confederate flag that had flown on the South Carolina statehouse grounds since the Civil Rights era came down. That decision by state leaders — called for by black activists — followed the murders of nine people at a historically African American church in Charleston by a white supremacist who'd been photographed posing with the Confederate flag.

Since then, cities across the South – – have been grappling with what to do with their Confederate symbols.

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