Flag fight sends South Carolina NAACP convention to Savannah

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Posted 3:35PM on Tuesday, August 6, 2002

SAVANNAH - The South Carolina NAACP will hold its annual convention in Savannah this October, the fourth straight year it has met outside the state to protest the Confederate battle flag that flies on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia, S.C. The civil rights organization's three-day meeting begins Oct. 10 and will be held at Savannah State University. The South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held the previous three conventions in Charlotte, N.C. "We decided that we would shift the convention from North Carolina this year because of some scheduling conflicts, and of course Savannah is a very attractive site for meetings," said Dwight James, NAACP state executive director, who expects about 700 people to attend the convention. James Gallman, South Carolina NAACP president, will be the main speaker on the first night of meetings, which will include presentation of humanitarian awards. Policy-making meetings will follow on Oct. 11 and 12, and the agenda would include the economic boycott the NAACP is using to persuade South Carolina to remove the Confederate battle flag. "We're still working out what kind of approach we're going to use. It's probably going to be a workshop setting where we have discussions about how we can strengthen the sanctions and increase awareness inside or outside the state," James said. Officials do not expect the sanctions to be dropped. "I don't anticipate that's a direction the discussions might take," James said. "But of course, if you've ever been on the floor at an NAACP session, anything might happen." South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department spokesman Marion Edmonds said his agency was "very disappointed that the state NAACP has felt it necessary to continue these economic sanctions. "We respect their right to make that decision (to move the convention to Georgia), but I'd be less than honest if I didn't say we are disappointed that they felt that was necessary," Edmonds said. He said that since the Confederate battle flag was removed from the Capitol dome and placed by a monument, the negative impact of the tourism boycott "has largely disappeared." NAACP officials continue to insist the change was insufficient.