NAACP ends its 15-year boycott of South Carolina after the state takes down Confederate flag from capitol grounds

  • The civil rights group approved the emergency resolution on Saturday at its national convention in Philadelphia
  • The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome
  • The boycott of tourism and other economic activity was lifted just a day after South Carolina officials took down the flag from Statehouse grounds
  • NAACP President Cornell William Brooks applauded South Carolina's decision to remove the flag earlier this week 

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 18:51 EST, 11 July 2015 | Updated: 20:31 EST, 11 July 2015

The NAACP has passed a resolution lifting its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina, a day after the state took down a Confederate battle flag flying near its Statehouse.

The civil rights group approved the measure Saturday at its national convention in Philadelphia to end the boycott of tourism and other economic activity. 

The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome. It continued after the flag was moved to a pole on Statehouse grounds.

The flag's removal comes weeks after the shooting deaths of nine people in a historically black church in Charleston. 

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The NAACP announced on Saturday that an emergency reslution ended the organization's 15-year boycott of South Carolina

The NAACP announced on Saturday that an emergency reslution ended the organization's 15-year boycott of South Carolina

The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome

The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome

An honor guard of state troopers lowered the Confederate battle flag from a pole on Saturday and took it to a museum where it will be displayed alongside other Confederate relics. The pole on which it had flown also was removed. 

Relatives of the nine people killed during the Bible study at a black church - police said the suspect Dylann Roof, 21, was motivated by racial hatred - had front-row seats for the historic moment. 

Roof, appeared in photographs posing with a Confederate flag that surfaced on a website bearing a racist manifesto. 

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley supported the flag before the shooting, but the Republican had a change of heart in the days after the killings, urging legislators to pass a bill before the end of the summer. She signed the legislation Thursday. 

Flag supporters remain, saying it symbolizes Southern heritage. 

South Carolina's leaders first flew the battle flag over the Statehouse dome in 1961 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Civil War.

The Confederate flag was removed from the Statehouse grounds on Friday, ending its 54-year presence there  

The Confederate flag was removed from the Statehouse grounds on Friday, ending its 54-year presence there  

Thousands watched on the grounds, and millions more on television, as the flag was removed and taken to a museum to sit alongside other Confederate relics 

Thousands watched on the grounds, and millions more on television, as the flag was removed and taken to a museum to sit alongside other Confederate relics 

Relieved: South Caronlia Gov Nikki Haley, pictured here holding hands with numerous civil rights figures as the flag came down, urged legislators to pass a bill for its removal before the end of the summer

Relieved: South Caronlia Gov Nikki Haley, pictured here holding hands with numerous civil rights figures as the flag came down, urged legislators to pass a bill for its removal before the end of the summer

It remained there to represent official opposition to the civil rights movement.

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks applauded South Carolina's decision to remove the flag earlier this week. 

He said the decision 'will make South Carolina more welcoming and affirming of all people irrespective of their skin color,' according to Huffington Post. 

He added: 'The NAACP applauds the South Carolina legislature for voting to remove the Confederate Battle flag - one of the longest standing symbols of hatred and exclusion - from public spaces and state grounds today. 

'This legislative decision affirms the 15 years of collective advocacy of the NAACP on both the national and state level to bring down the flag, in particular our 15 year economic boycott of the state that was joined by the NCAA and UAW.'

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