The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has voted to end its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina a day after the Confederate flag was removed from the grounds of the state house.
The civil rights group had boycotted tourism and other services in protest at the flying of the Confederate flag.
The controversial flag was removed after a debate sparked by the shooting of nine black people.
The suspected gunman, Dylann Roof, had been pictured holding the Confederate banner.
The flag was the battle emblem of the southern states during the American Civil War but is now seen by many as a symbol of slavery and racism.
Members of the NAACP agreed the move at their annual convention in Philadelphia.
“Emergency resolution passed by the NAACP National Board of Directors at #NAACP106, ending the 15 year South Carolina boycott,” the group said on its Twitter feed.
The Confederate flag was originally placed on top of the South Carolina state house in Columbia in 1961 as part of Civil War centennial commemorations.
However, critics said it was more of a sign of opposition to the black civil rights movement at the time.
The NAACP announced its boycott in 2000 and maintained it even though the Confederate flag was later taken down from the capitol’s dome and placed by a civil war monument in the grounds.
The future of the flag was thrust back into the limelight after nine black people were shot dead in a church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17 this year.
After a long and fractious debate, a bill calling for the flag to be taken down was signed on July 9 by Republican Governor Nikki Haley.
Relatives of some of the victims attended July 10 ceremony to remove the flag from outside the state house.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch the event, some chanting “take it down” while they waited for the ceremony to begin.
The Confederate flag’s supporters argue that it is an important part of southern heritage.
South Carolina House of Representatives has voted to take down the Confederate flag from its capitol grounds after a long and fractious debate.
The state House approval, by 93-27, follows a similar move in the Senate. After a final procedural vote, the bill will go to the governor for signature.
South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley supports the removal of the Confederate flag.
The backlash against the emblem grew when a gunman killed nine black people at a Charleston church last month.
Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged with the killings, was pictured holding the Confederate flag.
The Confederate flag – used by the South in the American Civil War (1860-65) – is seen by some as an icon of slavery and racism while others say it symbolizes the United States heritage and history.
The banner could now be removed within days.
The House vote was taken on July 9 after 13 hours of debate.
During a heated session, dozens of amendments by Republicans aimed at slowing down passage of the bill were rejected.
Some Republicans argued the flag was part of US history that had been “hijacked” by racists.
The Confederate flag was originally the battle emblem of the southern states in the American Civil War which tried to break away.
South Carolina was the first state to leave the union in 1860. It restored the flag in the capitol grounds more than 50 years ago in protest at the civil rights movement.
A black woman scaled the flag pole outside the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia on June 27 and removed its controversial Confederate flag.
Bree Newsome climbed the 30ft steel pole just after dawn despite police telling her to come down, Associated Press reported.
The woman was arrested afterwards along with a man who had entered the fenced area surrounding the base of the flagpole.
There have been calls for the Confederate flag to be removed since nine people were killed in a racist attack in Charleston.
Shooting suspect Dylann Roof had been pictured with the Civil War era saltire – seen by some as a symbol of slavery and racism – on a number of occasions.
Since the pictures emerged there has been pressure to remove the Confederate flag from the memorial in front of the South Carolina State House.
It was first flown in 1962 in protest at the growing civil rights movement and has been a source of rancor and controversy in the state ever since.
The hashtag #TakeItDown has been trending on Twitter in the US.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz has said President Obama believes the Confederate flag “belongs in a museum”.
Bree Newsome describes herself on Twitter as a filmmaker, singer, songwriter and freedom fighter.
A rally by Confederate flag supporters was also scheduled on June 27.
Walmart has decided to remove Confederate flag merchandise from stores and its e-commerce site in the wake of Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church shooting last week that renewed outcry over the symbol.
Brian Nick, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, said in a statement: “We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer.
“We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment – whether in our stores or on our website.”
On June 22, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called for removing the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. Following the shooting, which killed nine parishioners at a historic black church in the state, the symbol needs to go, she said.
Governor Nikki Haley said at a press conference: “That flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future.
“By removing a symbol that divides us, we can move forward as a state in harmony.”
Walmart has sold a range of Confederate-themed products, including decals, knives and T-shirts. The move to eliminate the merchandise was previously reported by CNN.
The company’s Brian Nick said in the statement: “We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell.
“Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly – this is one of those instances.”
The Confederate flag seen today on houses, bumper stickers and T-shirts – sometimes accompanied by the words “If this shirt offends you, you need a history lesson” – is not, and never was, the official national flag of the Confederacy.
The design by William Porcher Miles, who chaired the flag committee, was rejected as the national flag in 1861, overlooked in favor of the Stars and Bars.
The Confederate was instead adopted as a square battle flag by the Army of Northern Virginia under General Lee, the greatest military force of the Confederacy.
It fast became a potent symbol of Confederate nationalism.
The saltire – or diagonal cross – on the battle flag is believed to have been inspired by its heraldic connections, not any Scottish ones.
Since the end of the American Civil War, private and official use of the Confederacy’s flags, and of flags with derivative designs, has continued under philosophical, political, cultural, and racial controversy in the US. These include flags displayed in states, cities/towns/counties, schools/colleges/universities, private organizations/associations, and by individuals.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has called for the removal of a Confederate flag from the state capitol’s grounds.
The Confederate flag, emblematic of the south during the US civil war, was embraced by Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people in Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church last week.
Governor Nikki Haley called for the “removal of a symbol that divides us”, and urged the state legislature to act.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans says it will fight attempts to remove it.
Photo EP
The group says it symbolizes their heritage and history, not hate, and offered condolences to the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the attack took place.
At a news conference, Nikki Haley acknowledged that point of view but said to many others it was a “deeply offensive symbol of brutal oppression”.
Hours later, Walmart announced it would no longer stock any products that display the Confederation flag.
The Confederate flag was originally the battle flag of the southern states in the American Civil War when they tried to break away to prevent the abolition of slavery.
Only the South Carolina’s state legislature may remove the flag, according to a deal hatched in 2000 when the flag was moved from the capitol’s dome to the memorial where it now stands.
A vote could take place this week and could bring to an end many years of bitter arguing about the prominent location of the flag.
The latest debate over it was prompted by the shooting of nine black worshippers during a bible study group at the church in Charleston.
Suspect Dylann Roof has been pictured holding the Confederate flag.
State leaders have held crisis meetings as they have tried to find a solution but some leading Republicans have called for action.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, has also called for the flag’s removal.
Like Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham has reversed his position in light of the tragedy.
Others, including the Republican House Majority Leader Jay Lucas and Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, have also spoken out.
The Emanuel AME Church shooting has reignited an ongoing national debate over race relations.
President Barack Obama weighed in during a recent interview in which he used the N-word to make a point about racism in the US.
Barack Obama will deliver a eulogy at the funeral of one of the men killed – Clementa Pinckney, a personal friend of the president, who was state senator and pastor of the church.
President Barack Obama has used the “n-word” during an interview to argue that the US has yet to overcome its issues with racism.
“Racism, we are not cured of it,” the president said.
“And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n***er in public.”
The radio interview came days after a mass shooting in South Carolina which police believe was racially motivated.
Barack Obama will deliver a eulogy at the funeral of one of the men killed.
Clementa Pinckney, a personal friend of the president, was state senator and pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston where the attack took place.
In the interview, Barack Obama also lamented Congress’ lack of will to enact stricter gun controls.
“It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination,” he told comedian Marc Maron in a podcast.
“Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.”
Barack Obama acknowledged that attitudes about race in the US have improved since his childhood, but he said that America’s history of enslaving black people “casts a long shadow and that’s still part of our DNA that’s passed on”.
The president has publicly used the n-word before but not as president. He used the word several times in his book Dreams from my Father.
Nine black worshippers were killed by gunman Dylann Roof during a bible study group at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
Dylann Roof has been pictured holding the Confederate flag, a symbol used by southern states in the civil war when they tried to break away to prevent the abolition of slavery.
The shooting has restarted a debate over a Confederate flag that flies on the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and others have called for the flag to be removed, calling it a symbol of racism.
President Barack Obama did not reference the flag in the interview, but he said on June 19 that the flag belongs in a museum and should not be flown.
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