Confederate Flag That Waved Outside S.C. Statehouse Could Cost Millions To Preserve

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A Confederate flag that once flew outside South Carolina's capitol grounds will cost the state millions to display in a Civil War museum. 

The flag, long a symbol of racism and bigotry, was taken down from Columbia's statehouse flagpole in July following the killing of nine black church goers by a 21-year-old white supremacist. As part of the flag's being furled, a resolution was passed to display it in a museum.

On Tuesday, the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum Commission voted to spend up to $3.6 million to display the flag and other civil war memorabilia. The amount was a reduction from $5.3 million that the commission had originally agreed to spend on the display, with more than half a million dollars going to repair a leaky roof by the entrance, The Charlotte Observer reports.