Walmart is pulling merchandise with Confederate flag designs after the symbol was linked to recent violence. CBSN’s Kristine Johnson has more.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Sears Holdings Corp said they would stop selling products bearing the Confederate flag, a week after a white gunman shot nine dead at a historically black South Carolina church.
The move by the major retailers came the same day South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called on lawmakers to take down the flag, considered by opponents to be a symbol of slavery and racism, at the state capitol grounds.
The accused white gunman posed with the flag in photos online. Supporters, who fly the flag or wear it on clothing, see it as a symbol of the South’s history and culture, as well a memorial to the Confederate casualties during the 1861-65 Civil War.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company does not want to offend anyone with the products it offers.
« We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment – whether in our stores or on our website, » spokesman Brian Nick said in a statement.
Wal-Mart’s website still showed the flag and other merchandise carrying the flag available for purchase.