Google joins other major retailers in banning Confederate flag goods

In the wake of the recent racially-motivated church shooting in Charleston which claimed the lives of nine black parishioners, there have been calls to ban the Confederate flag.

In South Carolina, an activist, named locally as Bree Newsome, climbed the flagpole outside its statehouse and removed the controversial flag.

The flag is widely considered to be a symbol of racial oppression as it was often used as a sign of protest of the abolition of slavery.

It comes just days after Google became the latest retailer to ban sales of goods bearing the Confederate emblem.

• Read: Charleston pays tribute to church shooting victims

Google Inc has become the latest online retailer to pull all products bearing the controversial Confederate flag from sale in the wake of last week's racially-motivated massacre at a historic black church in South Carolina.

Amazon, eBay, Wal-Mart and Sears have already announced their decision to ban sales of merchandise displaying the image of the flag, which many see as representing racism and slavery.

In a statement sent to Reuters news agency, Google said it had pulled the items due to the perception that it "expressed hate".

Lawmakers in the state yesterday voted to open the debate on removing the flag from display in the State House grounds.

Amazon.com will be removing Confederate flag merchandise from its site, a source knowledgeable with the matter told Reuters.

The online retailer's move follows similar decisions by EBay, Wal-Mart and Sears in the wake of a racially-motivated massacre last week at a historically black South Carolina church.

US department store chain Sears has announced it will remove all Confederate Flags being sold by third parties on its marketplace website.

It follows a decision by supermarket giant Wal-Mart to remove all products bearing the controversial flag - which many see as representing racism and slavery - from stores and online in the wake of a massacre at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Supermarket giant Wal-Mart has pledged to remove all items bearing the Confederate Flag from its stores and online, according to a statement.

The move by the company - which owns UK supermarket chain Asda - comes after widespread protests over the flying and use of the flag, which many see as a symbol of hate and a throwback to the time of slavery.

It has remained in use in the grounds of the State Capitol in Columbia despite the racially-motivated shooting at a church which left nine worshippers dead.

South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley, is among those calling for the flag to be taken down.

President Barack Obama will deliver a eulogy at the funeral of murdered Charleston pastor Reverend Clementa Pinckney, the White House has confirmed.

The President is due to travel to South Carolina for the service where he will say a few words and pay his respects to the pastor and the eight members of his congregation who were gunned down at the city's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church last week.

The funeral is set for 11am at the College of Charleston on Friday.

Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, has called for the controversial Confederate Flag to be taken down from the grounds of the State Capitol in Columbia.

She has even threatened to call a special legislative session if the state senate doesn't act.

Thousands of people gathered on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge in Charleston to join hands in solidarity with the congregation of the church where nine black parishioners were shot during a bible study class last week.

The bridge's namesake is a former state politician and a vocal supporter of the Confederate flag carried by pro-slavery, secessionist forces in the American Civil War.

The shootings have renewed calls for the flag to be removed from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.

Photographs of suspect Dylann Roof, along with a purported self-written hate-filled manifesto online, showed him holding Confederate flags.

More: Charleston pays tribute to church shooting victims