Now that the South Carolina Legislature has voted to remove the Confederate flag from its statehouse grounds in the wake of the unfathomable killing of nine people during a Bible study meeting in a historic Charleston church, recent history tells us that the story will recede from the headlines.
But instead of turning away from the tragedy that befell Charleston this summer, this is precisely the time for a sober, reasoned discussion of the problems that led to this tragedy. We must not allow this horrible event to pass without having a deeper conversation about race and without taking full measure of what each of us can do to set a course toward racial equality and reconciliation.
