Reminder: The Confederate flag still flies on the statehouse grounds in Columbia, South Carolina

confederate flag
(Image credit: AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

Now that law enforcement authorities have Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof, 21, in custody, the broader context of what has been called a vicious hate crime is beginning to be examined, starting with South Carolina's troubled racial history.

The immediate focus has been on a potent symbol of the state's controversial past: the Confederate flag, which continues to fly on the statehouse grounds in Columbia. While some are calling for the flag to be flown at half staff to commemorate the victims, others say it should be taken down altogether, since it represents a cultural allegiance to the slave-holding South of the antebellum era.

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.