All I can say as someone with South Carolina ties.... they, as a people, are pretty proud of seceding, nullifying and generally being obstinate. I would believe that they would have put it up at 100 years, regardless of any civil rights movement or any resurgence in the flag. I am also pretty sure that this one particular matter was over pride of being obstinate. They've been under NCAA and other sanctions over the flag since 2000 and still have not to removed it. This is just speculation as no one really knows what was in the legislators' hearts and minds in 1961.
All I can say to understand South Carolina, a lot of what they do is guided by obstinance more so than anyone else except maybe Texas. Remember, they were the only state to nullify the tariff in the 1830s, they are the state of Francis Marion and guerrilla warfare (see the movie the Patriot) and they were the first state to secede.
Another example: Initially state legislatures, not the people, selected the electors for President of the United States. "By 1828, with the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, only Delaware and South Carolina used legislative choice. Delaware ended its practice the following election (1832), while South Carolina continued using the method until it seceded from the Union in December 1860. South Carolina used the popular vote for the first time in the 1868 election." That flag at the capitol stands as much for the state's history of general obstinance to everything as much as it does racism or anything else.
As my Southern Political History professor at UT put it "Texas and South Carolina have always been the two most conservative, rebellious states in the union, South Carolina more so than Texas."
Last edited: Jun 29, 2015