Democratic Presidential Candidates Call for Removal of Confederate Flag From Citadel After Photos of Cadets in KKK-Like Garb Surface

As photos of several Citadel cadets dressed in KKK-like costumes surfaced, several Democratic presidential candidates called for the removal of the contentious Confederate flag from the military college's chapel.

In a statement, The Citadel's President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa announced that the cadets involved — including the seven upper class cadets who posed in all white with white pillowcases over their heads — are under investigation as a suspension proceeding is underway. Rosa said that according to preliminary reports, the cadets were participating in the "Ghosts of Christmas Past" skits.

"These images are not consistent with our core values of honor, duty and respect," Rosa said in a statement on Thursday.

Screen grab via Facebook

The images, which drew consternation — and a sarcastic tutorial on ghost costumes from the Charleston City Paper — across the college and Palmetto state, were posted on The Citadel Minority Alumni's Facebook page — surfacing five months after a 21-year-old white man fatally shot nine members of a historically black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina in what his friend said was an attempt to launch a race war.

In a statement provided to TheBlaze Saturday morning, former Maryland Gov. O'Malley's South Carolina Director Tyler Jones urged the state legislature to allow the military college to remove the Confederate Naval Jack flag from The Citadel's Summerall Chapel.

"The horrific pictures that surfaced today serve as a reminder that racism and intolerance still exist on college campuses and a public institution of higher learning should not be home to such a divisive and offensive symbol," Jones said.

As WCBD-TV reported, The Citadel's Board of Visitors voted 9-3 on June 24 in favor of moving the Confederate flag from the chapel to another location on campus. The move would require an amendment to the Heritage Act by the state legislature.  

In July, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley (R) signed a bill that removed the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds.

Calls for the flag's removal were also made by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on social medial.

Symbols of hate create more hate. It's time for the Confederate flag to come down at The Citadel. -H https://t.co/OFkRmc1LiI

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 11, 2015

The photos from The Citadel are repugnant. Period. No excuses. The Confederate flag on campus must come down. https://t.co/CnBkf1Kjtp

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 11, 2015

In a statement, Lamont A. Melvin, chairman of The Citadel Minority Alumni, praised the swift reaction by Rosa and the military college and called for a zero-tolerance policy for "racially charged and racially-motivated rhetoric and activity" and increased funding for diversity training.

"We found the social media posting disgraceful," Melvin said. "Regardless of the spin that one may try to assign to this type of behavior, the characterization of what took place was 'not a mistake' that can simply be swept under the rug."

"This is not the first, second or third time that racially charged events have been documented to have occurred at The Citadel," Melvin continued. "It is easy to try to isolate events of this sort to a single item or incident, which would, on its face, be a disservice to minority cadets who have and are currently attending The Citadel. This issue is much bigger. It’s a cultural issue and it must be addressed and it must end now."  

According to an earlier report in the Charleston Post & Courier, minority students graduate from The Citadel at a rate more than 15 percentage points lower than white students. The gap between minority and Caucasian students have increased by nearly 9 percentage points over 10 years.