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The flag was removed in an official government ceremony where hundreds of onlookers watched and cheered as they watched the controversial flag be taken down.
South Carolina brought down the Confederate flag that had flown over the 30-foot flagpole that sits on the grounds of the Statehouse in the state's capital Columbia.
The flag had flown in the city for 54 years and went up at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement.
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The moment the Confederate Flag came down. https://t.co/g5fVj1MEHI
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing)
July 10, 201
The removal of the flag comes 23 days after the racially motivated shooting that took place at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed in the shooting, including the church's pastor and former state senator Clementa C. Pinckney.
The flag became the subject of controversy again as photographs and images showed the shooter sporting the confederate flag and other racist symbols.
��Nah Nah Nah Hey Hey Hey Good Bye �� #TakeItDown pic.twitter.com/16VfGg8jfQ
— RollingOut (@RollingOut)
July 10, 201
The flag was lowered during a ceremony organized by the city amid cheers from a large crowd. The historic ceremony marked the end of an era and was conducted by South Carolina state troopers, who marched in formation in front of a cheering crowd of hundreds.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a tweet Friday that taking down the Confederate flag was "a sign of good will and healing and a meaningful step toward a better future."
South Carolina taking down the confederate flag - a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future.
— President Obama (@POTUS)
July 10, 201
RELATED: 5 Key Facts on the Racist History of the Confederate Flag
Meanwhile, South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley called Friday a great day for the state.
"I'm thinking of those nine people today," Haley said, referring to the nine men and women gunned down at Charleston's African Methodist Episcopal church.
Activists took to social media to express support for taking down the flag, but reminded people that there was more to be done in the face of racism and for social justice in the U.S.
I'm 100% glad that the flag is down. However, we can't allow it to end here. Systemic racism must be actively dismantled. Now.
— Bree Newsome (@BreeNewsome)
July 10, 201
Let the confederate flag falling today in South Carolina re-energize you & remind you of the power of protest, of the power of your voice.
— deray mckesson (@deray)
July 10, 201
