A circuit court judge ruled Thursday in favor of a black woman against the South Carolina Secessionist Party, thus dissolving it, Raw Story reports.
The woman sued after the party handed her children Confederate flags. Images of her kids were then shared on the social media, according to The Post and Courier.
Judge Alex Kinlaw Jr. ordered the organization to pay $1,000 to the Charleston NAACP and dissolve all of its online assets. Additionally, if they try to re-open they will have to pay the mother and each of her two kids $1 million.
“If we just love one another, all of this stuff will go away,” Kinlaw said.
Kinlaw, the first African-American judge elected to the 13th circuit court said he found it frustrating that “we are still dealing with that kind of stuff,” in 2019.
The lawsuit, filed by Alicia Greene states that the pro-Secessionist group, which has consistently held pro-flag rallies, was holding one on June 24, 2017, to spread “the love to All of our Southern brothers and sisters,” according to an invitation that’s included in the court documents.
But that very same day, Secessionist Party founder James Bessenger was hit by a car, and first responders, including a fire truck, showed up, drawing the kids away from their mom. Not long after that, photographs of her kids holding Confederate flag images appeared on Facebook.
Greene filed the lawsuit “to make sure it never happened to anyone else,” the settlement states.
An attorney for the Secessionist Party waived an appearance and consented to the terms of the settlement.
Community leaders described the party as a hate group and lauded Kinlaw’s decision, noting it’s a positive step for a city known for its ties to slavery.
“This is a big day for our community, for South Carolina as a state and for the nation,” said Charleston attorney Ray Wiley IV, who represented the plaintiffs. “We have no doubt that while we have financially bankrupted a morally bankrupt organization, hate still exists. People will still appear with hate in their hearts and with the flag. But today is a very big step forward in the right direction for our community.”
The NAACP, which didn’t request the financial donation attended the hearing to lend its support to Greene’s lawsuit.
“We continue to fight,” said Dot Scott, Charleston NAACP President. “We send a message that hate cannot exist.”
In one simple step, this African-American mom has put one hateful organization out of commission. Kudos to Alicia Greene for doing this.
Image license Attribution 2.0 by Sean Hackbarth via Flickr
