By JEFFREY COLLINS
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Confederate flag that flutters 30 feet above one of this city's busiest streets still draws a mix of head shakes and shrugs from South Carolina residents.
Some are upset the banner was removed from atop the statehouse dome eight years ago. Some say they like it in its current spot beside a memorial to Confederate soldiers. And some echo a recent call by the NAACP for the banner to be removed from state property altogether.
The NAACP at its national convention this week renewed its call for an economic boycott of South Carolina. Since 1999, the civil rights organization has encouraged family reunions, sporting events and entertainers to stay away from the state and officials say their new plan entails asking actors and movie studios to shun the state's efforts to lure film makers.
Even the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which countered the protests of 2000 with their own demonstrations in support of the banner, likes the way things are.
"Once the Senate and the House spoke and exerted the will of the people through their representatives, we accepted it. You don't see us out there protesting at the African-American history monument," said Don Gordon, chairman of the group's South Carolina heritage defense committee.
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