The `abiding faith' of King.(Editorial)

South Carolina officially celebrates the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday for the first time today as a state holiday, less than seven months after the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome. As Palmetto State residents reflect upon today's commemoration, they should take pride in this culmination - and in a sense, continuation - of the compromise spirit that produced these related, historic developments. Today in Columbia, the NAACP will mark the holiday by marching in protest against the flag settlement, arguing that the placement of a more historically accurate Confederate flag behind the Confederate Soldiers' Monument on Statehouse grounds still leaves it in too visible a position. Yet the NAACP succeeded in its basic goal of last year's boycott - having the flag removed from the dome. Despite lingering complaints from some pro- and anti-flag forces, most South Carolinians happily have put the flag fight behind them. And most South Carolinians should realize that the official King state holiday recognizes a great American's historic crusade for fairness and harmony. Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, the Senate sponsor …