The United States is still grappling with its troubled race relations. Police treatment of minorities has fanned the flames of debate, but the touch paper was lit after nine black churchgoers were shot and killed by an alleged white supremacist. The ensuing horror led to a backlash against the controversial Confederate flag – a banner the gunman brandished in several pictures posted online. Though the tide of popular opinion is turning, the flag still has ardent fans in parts of the country.