Group barred from changing segregated war monument sues SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Members of an American Legion Post in Greenwood are suing South Carolina because the state won’t allow them to replace plaques on a war memorial that segregate the list of dead soldiers in two world wars to “white” and “colored.”

The state law that moved the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome to a pole in front of the capitol in 2000 also prohibits local governments from altering any historical monuments without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. The American Legion Post 20’s monument is on city property.

The lawsuit says the General Assembly shouldn’t have that power over local matters and the 15-year-old law is unconstitutional.

Attorney Rauch Wise says if a judge rules in the Legion’s favor, it won’t alter the current way the Confederate flag is displayed.