It is unfortunate that it took a mass killing of African-Americans by a disturbed, racist young man to do it, but the decision by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds is a welcomed development.

The Republican governor put it well when she observed that for many “the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.” If the state truly wants to move past that legacy of slavery, segregation and white supremacy, the flag must come down.

Its history is not grounded solely in a 150-year-old conflict and the unsuccessful insurrection of the southern states to separate from the Union and maintain a society that included legal slavery. As recently as the 1960s, the legislature voted to place the Confederate battle flag atop the Statehouse dome as a symbol of opposition to the civil rights movement. It remained there until 2000, when it was moved, by way of a compromise, to a Confederate monument on the Statehouse grounds.

Dylan Roof, the 21-year-old who gunned down nine worshipers at a historic black church in Charleston, clearly found comfort in the flag for his hateful racist views. Photos have surfaced of his holding the Confederate flag and desecrating the U.S. flag.

At Mr. Roof’s arraignment, family members of the victims, through their wrenching sobs, responded to Mr. Roof’s hate with love, some saying they forgave him, others offering the desire for his spiritual redemption.

This display, and Gov. Haley's attendance at Sunday church services at the scene of the crime, seemed particularly influential in persuading her that it was time for South Carolina to move on and relegate the Confederate flag to the place it belongs — in museums.

“My children saw that true hate can never, never triumph over true love. My children saw the heart and soul of South Carolina start to mend,” she said.

It took political courage. Opponents drove from office the last governor who proposed removing the flag from its state-sanctioned location.

In another significant development, Wal-Mart announced it will remove from it shelves any products featuring the Confederate symbol.

Another page may about to be turned as our nation continues its work to “form a more perfect Union.”