While the media and the American people ponder and pontificate about the Confederate flag’s meaning and whether or not it should be removed, Bree Newsome took matters into her own hands.
SEE ALSO: Opinion: Should The N-Word Be Compared To The Confederate Flag
Using a harness for safety, just before dawn, Newsome climbed the 30 foot pole in front of the South Carolina Statehouse Saturday (June 27), reports say. Newsome brought down the flag, and state officials arrested her and raised it again less than two hours later.
“We removed the flag today because we can’t wait any longer,” Newsome said in a press release. “We can’t continue like this another day. It’s time for a new chapter where we are sincere about dismantling white supremacy and building toward true racial justice and equality.”
Another activist James Tyson who spotted Newsome was also arrested.
The flag’s removal was planned by 10 other activists after Dylann Storm Room killed nine people inside a Charleston church on June 17th at “Mother” Emanuel Church in Charleston.
SEE ALSO: President (Reverend) Obama Took Us to Church With His Rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’
“We didn’t see it fit to have the flag stand erect while the people who were massacred were laid to rest under it,” organizer Tamika Lewis said.
It’s reported the group planned to keep the flag in a safe place as the funerals for the remainder of the victims are being held next week.