SC Manual Uses 19th-Century Terms For Ex-Leaders

The official manual of South Carolina's Legislature continues to label some of the state's former politicians as "Negro" or "scalawag" - apparent remnants of resentment over Reconstruction that no one has bothered to change.

By AP
Published: May 29, 2009

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The official manual of South Carolina's Legislature continues to label some of the state's former politicians as "Negro" or "scalawag" - apparent remnants of resentment over Reconstruction that no one has bothered to change.

A spokesman for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who is considering a run for the top office, has sent a letter to House Clerk Charles Reid, calling the terms irrelevant.

Reid compiles the book and says the lists are pulled from historical documents so he is cautious about changing them.

State NAACP president Lonnie Randolph says he isn't bothered by the listings because they shed light on the people who made the entries and the people who keep them there.

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On the Net:

List of former South Carolina House speakers from Legislative manual