Still seeking a leader

Friday's editorial encourages local elected officials in Horry County and Myrtle Beach to take the lead forging a solution to the Confederate flag-NAACP boycott impasse.

Furor over the loss of a college baseball tournament from Myrtle Beach because of the NAACP's flag-on-Statehouse-grounds boycott of South Carolina has once again subsided to a slow boil of resentment, but is surely waiting for the next visible blow to the state's tourism economy to erupt anew.

After news in early July that the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and tens of thousands of attendees were moving to North Carolina, area lawmakers leaped to lambaste the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the ACC. When we lose our next big event to the boycott, we can again thank those gentlemen in the Statehouse for their leadership on the issue.

The Sun News had suggested that the embattled Gov. Mark Sanford, promising to reclaim his role as head of state, had nothing left to lose politically and could thus try to forge a compromise on the flag, a notoriously difficult issue. We still believe he could lead on it, but we have yet to hear back.

Meanwhile, local community activist Bennie Swans may have devised a far more serious, and more practical, solution: Let the Grand Strand take the lead. While the NAACP tourism boycott affects all of South Carolina through its largest industry, Myrtle Beach surely feels the most immediate pain. Local governmental leaders never publicly took a stance on the flag or the boycott, which makes them acceptable neutral parties to try to reconvene the debate.

In that same vein, Swans also suggests calling in the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Services, federal negotiators who specialize in nonconfrontational resolution to community-level racial conflicts. Swans noted that they are not enforcers for one side or the other, but mediators - the role he hopes local officials will play.

"It's not to say 'Take the flag down' or 'Leave it up' - but our elected officials have a responsibility to engage in the conversation," Swans said.

Swans could not be more right. State lawmakers and the NAACP have both dug in their heels, and left to either either group to surrender, the boycott will remain. Arguments on both sides have merit - the boycott hurts all South Carolinians, white and black; the flag has both deep historical meaning and ugly symbolism; and fealty to such a polarizing flag probably damages the state's reputation without a boycott. Surely reasonable heads can find a solution.

Swans presented his idea to City Council several weeks ago without response. Spokesman Mark Kruea said he cannot speak for the city until the council takes a position, but noted the obvious harm the controversy causes.

"Myrtle Beach is caught in the middle," he said. "The stalemate doesn't appear to be doing anyone any good."

Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said the need for a solution is stark. She likened the damage caused by the boycott to an iceberg, where only the tip is visible. Over the years, the boycott has likely cost the state far more than a baseball tournament, she said.

"That issue is a huge stumbling block that has hurt everyone in the state, one way or another," she said.

Gilland agreed that Horry County could serve as a neutral mediator, bringing the legislature and the NAACP back to the negotiating table, and said she would broach the idea with the County Council. A solution, she said, would be worth the short-term political pain.

"It would be a rare move for elected officials to put themselves square in the middle of a fight that they don't have to," Gilland said. "But those who are in it for the good shouldn't care."

After news in early July that the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and tens of thousands of attendees were moving to North Carolina, area lawmakers leaped to lambaste the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the ACC. When we lose our next big event to the boycott, we can again thank those gentlemen in the Statehouse for their leadership on the issue.

The Sun News had suggested that the embattled Gov. Mark Sanford, promising to reclaim his role as head of state, had nothing left to lose politically and could thus try to forge a compromise on the flag, a notoriously difficult issue. We still believe he could lead on it, but we have yet to hear back.

Meanwhile, local community activist Bennie Swans may have devised a far more serious, and more practical, solution: Let the Grand Strand take the lead. While the NAACP tourism boycott affects all of South Carolina through its largest industry, Myrtle Beach surely feels the most immediate pain. Local governmental leaders never publicly took a stance on the flag or the boycott, which makes them acceptable neutral parties to try to reconvene the debate.

In that same vein, Swans also suggests calling in the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Services, federal negotiators who specialize in nonconfrontational resolution to community-level racial conflicts. Swans noted that they are not enforcers for one side or the other, but mediators - the role he hopes local officials will play.

"It's not to say 'Take the flag down' or 'Leave it up' - but our elected officials have a responsibility to engage in the conversation," Swans said.

Swans could not be more right. State lawmakers and the NAACP have both dug in their heels, and left to either either group to surrender, the boycott will remain. Arguments on both sides have merit - the boycott hurts all South Carolinians, white and black; the flag has both deep historical meaning and ugly symbolism; and fealty to such a polarizing flag probably damages the state's reputation without a boycott. Surely reasonable heads can find a solution.

Swans presented his idea to City Council several weeks ago without response. Spokesman Mark Kruea said he cannot speak for the city until the council takes a position, but noted the obvious harm the controversy causes.

"Myrtle Beach is caught in the middle," he said. "The stalemate doesn't appear to be doing anyone any good."

Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said the need for a solution is stark. She likened the damage caused by the boycott to an iceberg, where only the tip is visible. Over the years, the boycott has likely cost the state far more than a baseball tournament, she said.

"That issue is a huge stumbling block that has hurt everyone in the state, one way or another," she said.

Gilland agreed that Horry County could serve as a neutral mediator, bringing the legislature and the NAACP back to the negotiating table, and said she would broach the idea with the County Council. A solution, she said, would be worth the short-term political pain.

"It would be a rare move for elected officials to put themselves square in the middle of a fight that they don't have to," Gilland said. "But those who are in it for the good shouldn't care."