SC black student mulls Confederate flag in window

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 19-year-old black student at the University of South Carolina Beaufort is thinking about returning a Confederate flag to his dorm room window because he wants people to thoughtfully consider issues of race and not just knee-jerk reactions to such symbols.

Byron Thomas says a class research project made him realize the flag’s real meaning has been hijacked.

He says university officials asked him to take the banner down after students and parents complained, but have since told him he can put it back up.

He said his generation can eliminate the flag’s negative power by adopting the banner as a symbol of Southern pride. But Thomas says his parents don’t like the flag and he’s concerned, particularly since they pay his bills.