The Citadel and the Confederate Flag

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As my brother is a graduate of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, I wanted to know its position on the Confederate Flag as in my opinion, it has all gotten out of hand.  The Confederate flag, flying at the college chapel, goes a long way back and represents heritage and pride and a war fought for States Rights. It was presented to the Citadel President General Charles P. Summerall by the Cadet Yacht Club in 1939.

Before the Charleston shooting incident by a whack job at the AME Church which is 2.1 miles from The Citadel, a Charleston city council member, African American Henry Darby and born in Charleston and who received a Masters in Education from the College in 2007, asked that the flag, considered to be a memorial for valor by the Citadel, be removed from Summerall Chapel. He threatened that the school would lose his support for $975,000 in Accommodations Tax funding if it were not removed.

Summerall Chapel

Statements from The Citadel

Statement from Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa:

This has been a difficult week for our community and state. The Citadel has directly felt the impact of the tragedy at Emanuel AME Church as one of the victims was a Citadel Graduate College alumnus and six of our employees lost family members. The Emanuel AME Church is our neighbor and we consider it a part of our extended Citadel family. We will continue to support the church and its members in their time of need.

Today, The Citadel Board of Visitors voted 9-3 in favor of moving the Confederate Naval Jack from Summerall Chapel to an appropriate location on campus. The move will require an amendment to the Heritage Act by the South Carolina legislature. The board’s motion authorizes the Chair of the Board of Visitors and the administration of the college to work with the legislature on the amendment. The Board of Visitors and I believe now is the right time to move the flag from a place of worship to an appropriate location. We pride ourselves on our core values of honor, duty and respect. Moving the Naval Jack to another location is consistent with these values and is a model to all of the principled leadership we seek to instill in our cadets and students. It also promotes unity on our campus, in our community and across our state during this time of healing.

John W. Rosa, Lt Gen (USAF, ret)

Citadel President