Charlotte (North Carolina), July 1 (IANS/EFE): The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) will protest in Columbia city, capital of the US state of South Carolina, against the removal of the Confederate flag from public buildings.

The protest will be held on July 18 at the South Carolina State House to defend white history and culture.

"They are erasing white history and white culture right out of the history books," read a message left by the organisation on Tuesday to Columbia's newspaper, The State.

The Confederate flag was adopted by the secessionist states of the Confederation who favoured slavery, against the northern states of the Union during the American Civil War.

The flag has been a subject of controversy since an attack last week on a church belonging to Charleston's African-American community, where nine people were shot dead by white supremacist Dylann Roof in an attempt to unleash a "race war".

The tragic incident paved the way for a debate in several southern states of the country regarding the hoisting of the Confederate flag on public buildings.

On July 6, South Carolina legislators will discuss drafting a law to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said that though the flag "represents Southern heritage", some residents of the state view it as a "symbol of oppression".

WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina's capital, reported on Tuesday that the KKK distributed pamphlets attacking presidential candidate Jeb Bush for his stance on immigration.

The pamphlets read: "A vote for Jeb Bush is a vote for open borders and for an accelerated browning of America."

The message also urged readers to "save American jobs" and "fight for our race" by joining their group.

KKK member James Spears told the media they will continue distributing flyers throughout the country until July 1 and added that KKK was not a hate group but a defender of the white race.