BRACK:  South Carolina needs to get on right side of history

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  If you want to understand the stark difference between business and government, look to NASCAR.

Just two days after Bubba Wallace, the racing sport’s only black driver, said it was time to remove the Confederate flag from NASCAR’s events and properties, the sport’s operating company did so.

Two days.  To get rid of the painful symbol of the South that’s been a visible feature at racing events for generations.  

A few things mark NASCAR’s decisive action:

First, it shows protests following the May 30 police choking death of George Floyd in Minneapolis are having impact.  The country is at a civil rights tipping point.  While other high-profile deaths by police or white nationalist terrorists pitted America’s soul, Floyd’s last gasps stirred a simmering anger that won’t be quelled.  This time, Americans are screaming, for the equity and equality promised in the nation’s founding documents

Second, NASCAR’s quick movement on removing the Confederate flag comes at a time when racing fans will have time to process the controversial symbol that offends so many that others find a reminder of Southern heritage. It’s probably not a coincidence that no NASCAR fans can attend events because of coronavirus distancing.  Let’s hope NASCAR officials enforce the ban, don’t back down.

Third, corporate bigwigs are keenly sensitive to what’s happening in the streets.  They know if they’re on the wrong side of public perception on this new civil rights movement, their brands and bottom lines could be impacted negatively.  What’s happening  is a perfect storm for change in corporate America because of the unique blend of companies that want to do the right thing but also have a desire to stay in business.

Finally, elected officials better wake up to new political realities stemming from the protests. The people now protesting aren’t going to wait years for change as they did in the slog of getting the Confederate flag off the Statehouse dome and then off the Statehouse grounds.  Right now, just over half of Americans support Black Lives Matter, making it more popular than Donald Trump or Joe Biden, observes Bloomberg editor Frances Wilkinson.

Just a few weeks ago, who would have thought there would be serious discussion about renaming American military bases named for Confederate leaders?  Who would have thought Confederate monuments would topple across the South?  Who would have thought the people of Mississippi would be having serious discussions about replacing its current state flag, which includes the Confederate battle symbol, with a new flag?

Now South Carolina, home of the first shots of a Civil War, needs to get on the right side of history by taking proactive steps to reduce inequities and promote equality.  Legislators need to repeal the state’s Heritage Act, which keeps local communities from removing monuments, such as the more than 100 that glorify the lost cause of the Civil War.  State lawmakers need to reexamine and refresh whole governing, education and health care systems to flush away oppression and privilege and replace them with inclusion and acceptance.

If state lawmakers don’t move as decisively as NASCAR and other corporate giants when they reconvene at the end of the month to deal with the state budget and coronavirus, they will face anger, resentment and impact at the polls in November.  It wouldn’t be surprising, for example, if some incumbents without challengers (thanks to gerrymandering) suddenly find themselves with write-in opponents.  And in South Carolina, we know write-in candidates can win.  That’s how Strom Thurmond got into the U.S. Senate in 1954.

Demanding times demand thoughtful, decisive action.  The American protests of spring aren’t going to fade away this time.  Those in power need to keep these words in mind as they make decisions on our collective future:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Amen.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report.  Have a comment?  Send to:  feedback@statehousereport.com.