History was made on South Carolina state capitol grounds on Friday when officials lowered and took down the controversial Confederate flag from the government property, according to Reuters.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley approved legislation for the symbol to be removed on Thursday and it was lowered the next day to applause.
“It’s a great day in South Carolina,” Haley told NBC’s “Today” show host Matt Lauer on Friday. "I'm thinking of those nine people today," Haley said. "In South Carolina we honor tradition, we honor history, we honor heritage. But there's a place for that flag and that flag needs to be in a museum, where we will continue to make sure that people can honor it appropriately."
The flag’s clearance from its pole arose after Dylann Roof fatally shot nine people attending bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, according to previous HNGN coverage.
"But the statehouse - that's an area that belongs to everyone. No one should drive by the statehouse and feel pain, no one should ever drive by the statehouse and feel like they don't belong," Haley told Lauer.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on the "Today" show:
Click here for more of HNGN's coverage about the South Carolina church shooting.
