and it is really striking to see hundreds and hundreds of white south carolinians going to these rallies, in support of the flag in that period of time, all holding the battle flag. and you realize the breadth and depth of the support for the flag. when you compare that to now, it seems like there's been a fairly significant change in the opinion or the number of people that are willing to really make this an issue. >> absolutely. and back in the late 90s and 2000, you had a lot of legislators in that statehouse that supported keeping that flag up, that were ardent supporters of the confederacy, like glen mcconnell, who's now the president of charleston. it was a really tough time. the naacp was strong back then, although they said that they weren't for the compromise. and of course, the boycott went on. but i think it was a little bit meaner. we went and burnt the flag on confederate memorial day in the