As Charleston, S.C., mourns the racist murders of nine black people in a historic church, many people find it particularly galling that the state’s capitol displays the Confederate battle flag, a symbol of a regime that the suspected killer is said to have celebrated. Even officials in as conservative state as Texas ruled that it could be considered too offensive to be allowed on license plates, a position upheld by the Supreme Court. 

But many say it is a symbol of the South’s heritage, culture and military pride and can be displayed without any sense of racism. 

Does displaying the flag show historic appreciation, or is it a symbol of a reviled era, that breeds racism and should not be officially approved?