This post complements Chapter 24. Elegance Doesn’t Come Easy: The South Carolina State Flag in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.
It’s been compared to a toilet brush and “a bouquet of blown-out umbrella skeletons.” What is it? The central element in a proposed redesign of the South Carolina state flag.
Proposed new flag design
In a textbook case of groupthink, five well-meaning white men proposed a new State Flag design that features a raggety cabbage palm design based, admittedly, on a mere sketch from over a century ago. The five had been charged by the South Carolina legislature with proposing an official state flag design that would be used in government contexts, which was an effort to replace various flag designs now in use with one agreed-upon design.
The State Flag Study Committee had a Facebook page (PickSCflag) and held five meetings, deep delving into South Carolina history and they issued a report with their preferred design. A compatible bill was pre-filed by Republican Ronnie Cromer to adopt it, and the group’s confidence in their process and product was captured on December 27th by Avery Wilks, writing for the Post and Courier.
“Supporters of the bill say they can’t imagine why anyone would object.
State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, says she plans to give the bill a hearing in the Senate Family and Veterans’ Services Committee. She predicted it would coast to passage.”
Four days later (Dec. 31) Wilks followed up with a story referencing an unscientific Twitter poll that indicated 22% of respondents thought it was a good design. The other three quarters . . .eh…. not so much. In fact, over half of the respondents thought the design was either “really bad” or “total trash.”
“The flag looks feeble, its wiry fronds resembling Freddy Krueger’s murderous fingers, some claim. Others say it looks like the tree just survived a major hurricane or a lengthy addiction to meth. The palmetto could pass for Charlie Brown’s pathetic Christmas tree, more than a few have commented. Some wondered if it was sketched by a particularly uninspired juvenile.
“Terrible!” one shouted over the internet. “Horrible,” another wrote.
“How do we protest this design & arrange to have someone else produce a better one?” one North Charleston reader asked via email.”
The unexpectedly controversial palmetto design closely follows a pencil sketch made around 1910 by amateur artist Ellen Heyward Jervey. Emphasis should be placed on the words “sketch” and “amateur”. For what was likely a quick (2 minute?) gesture drawing of a palmetto, it’s actually pretty good – it avoids the most common pitfalls: rendering the fronds as feather-like (pinnate) plumes or depicting the trunk with coconut palm leaf scars rather than bootjacks. But Ms. Jervey probably would have been clutching her pearls if someone had dared to suggest it be accurately transferred as-is to the official state flag.
This whole endeavor (to adopt a single “official” state flag design) started in April of 2017 when a South Carolina citizen wrote a letter to editor in The State newspaper. It ran under the heading, “Could we please stop changing SC flag?” The author was Scott Malyerck, and it seemed like the type of letter that might motivate a legislator to introduce legislation to address his concerns, which were the existence of several different, if not competing, flag designs and his desire for consistency.
Curiously, such legislation (SB 559) had been introduced six weeks earlier, on March 16, by Republican Senator Ronnie Cromer. Companion legislation had been introduced in the House by Republican Representatives Martin, Pope, Delleney, and Huggins on April 26. So Malyerck’s letter, rather than being a naïve grassroots starting point, was actually part of an ongoing campaign to move already introduced legislation forward. Malyerck is frequently cited as a Newberry political consultant, but he can also accurately be called a former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party.
In order to understand how a distinguished committee came up with such a literally and figuratively sketchy design, it might be worth reviewing the concept of groupthink. According to a Psychology Today website:
“Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible. The problematic or premature consensus that is characteristic of groupthink may be fueled by a particular agenda—or it may be due to group members valuing harmony and coherence above critical thought.”
“Even in minor cases, groupthink triggers decisions that aren’t ideal or that ignore critical information. In highly consequential domains—like politics or the military—groupthink can have much worse consequences, leading groups to ignore ethics or morals, prioritize one specific goal while ignoring countless collateral consequences, or, at worst, instigate death and destruction.”
And what does Psychology Today suggest minimizes the chances of groupthink:
“Diversity—both demographic diversity and diversity of thought—has been shown to reduce the possibility of groupthink. Group members’ different backgrounds, beliefs, or personality traits can all spawn unique ideas that can inspire innovation. It’s critical, though, that all group members—regardless of their position or demographics—be allowed to contribute to group decision-making.”
The five members of the State Flag Study Committee included (perhaps not surprisingly) Scott Malyerck, who had been appointed by the Speaker of the House, Republican Jay Lucas. Other members appointed by elected officials include Robert (Robbie) Dawkins, aide to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Republican Hugh Leatherman, and distinguished South Carolina historian Walter Edgar, who had been appointed by Republican Governor, Henry Mc Master. The group was rounded out with Dr. Eric Emerson, Director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and Department of Administration Chief of Staff, Paul Koch.
So, while the study committee had some great connections to power and access to historical expertise, they probably weren’t likely to win any diversity awards.
I suspect their insularity, modest number of meetings, and desire to adopt some palmetto design with a deep history allowed them to overlook the fact that (with the exception of kid’s refrigerator art) quick sketches by amateurs are no substitute to well-thought-out design.
Wilks’ New Year’s Eve column concludes as follows:
“Scott Malyerck, a political consultant appointed to the flag committee, told the Post and Courier’s Avery Wilks that around 95% of feedback he received on the flag was negative.
“Message received,” he told the paper.
The overwhelmingly unenthusiastic response spurred the commission to revise its design before it goes before lawmakers in 2021.”
Twitter user Michael Cooper used the proposed design to characterize the general devolution of the year 2o20.
If you are interested in the genesis of the South Carolina flag, you’ll probably enjoy Chapter 24 of THE PALMETTO BOOK: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, which will be available from the University of Florida Press or your local independent bookstore (or, you know, Amazon) starting March 16, 2021.
Exciting! Look forward to reading your book. Pam McVety