Congressional Black Caucus

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from Illinois, and my friend, the gentleman from New Jersey, for their important leadership they are exercising here this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I have come to speak about why symbols matter and why this symbol, the Confederate flag, must not stop with the flag, but must also go to what to do not only about the flag, but about the guns that took down the Charleston 9.

To be sure, symbols matter, Mr. Speaker. To take two of the most powerful symbols in the world, the cross and the Star of David, we know well these symbols can sometimes mean everything. We also know that the Confederate flag is a symbol of a different and lower order.

A symbol stands for more than itself; the symbol tells a story. The religious symbols evoke tears; they evoke joy, and they evoke their own set of stories. The Confederate flag, when it led to the extraordinary tragedy of the Charleston 9 will always--should always--make us think of the gun that was responsible for the Charleston 9--not just the symbol, but the story behind the symbol.

In the 19th century, the flag signaled the importance of slavery. In the 20th century, it had a different meaning. Robert E. Lee had told his soldiers:

Put down the flag. We are one Union now.

He was, in a real sense, the counterpart to Abraham Lincoln, who was trying to draw us together after Lee had lost that war.

In the 20th century, the flag was revived. It was revived by Southern Democrats--Dixiecrats, as they called themselves. It has been, in the 20th century and, now, the 21st century, a symbol of discrimination and racism. No matter what it stood for in the 19th century about heritage, it lost that meaning when, in the 20th century, George Wallace raised it and said ``segregation now'' and ``segregation forever.'' Nobody who now speaks of heritage then said: Wait a minute, Governor Wallace, don't take away our heritage.

Only when African Americans have the nerve to raise the notion, after we lost nine good people in Charleston, does it somehow now become a symbol of heritage.

I will give Senator Mitch McConnell some credit. He wants to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky State Capitol, but when asked about removing the Jefferson Davis statue from the United States Capitol, Mr. McConnell grew silent.

We have got to come to grips with what this flag meant to this boy who used a gun. I am not going to forget those who died and what we owe those who died.

The Dixiecrats bolted from Harry S. Truman when Truman refused to embrace their racism. These were Southern Democrats, and we owe them the 21st century meaning of the Confederate flag.

Mr. Speaker, why are we talking about this symbol and not another symbol? The other symbol is the gun in America.

The grace of the people of Charleston so overwhelmed the country that there were many who were simply grateful that, instead of bursting forward with rage, they showed their extraordinary Christian heritage, the heritage they undoubtedly shared with the gunman. We were so grateful, all of us, and so proud that we have not talked about what took the lives of these nine good people.

Well, I want to talk about it because the Confederate flag for me now will always represent those nine people and the gun that took their lives. That 21-year-old kid didn't know anything about them except their Christian love when they invited him into their sanctuary.

But, he knew about what that flag stood for, and he raised that flag before he went into that sanctuary.

We must not forget not only the flag--we cannot live by symbols alone--we must not forget the gun that took down the Charleston 9.

Now, I understand--I read--that Senator Manchin and Senator Toomey are interested in reviving their gun safety legislation. There are several bills here in the House that do that in one form or another.

We know what happened. There was a breakdown in the background check system, which is why this young man was even able to get a gun. He would have been denied a gun if those who opposed any bill hadn't assured that the bill would have only a 3-day time period, during which, if you couldn't find something on the individual, then he got his gun, no matter who he was. That is how he got his gun.

There are some of us who know full well that the Confederate flag has done more than put the flag back on the agenda--on the Nation's agenda--it has put gun safety once again on the agenda.

I must say, I don't believe we, who celebrate the extraordinary grace of the families of the Charleston 9, owe them only our speeches about the flag. They probably, once they saw it come down, have moved on; and now, they have only their loved ones to think about.

If I were one of them, I would wonder: What are those who celebrate the flag coming down going to do about making sure that, never again, will people like our loved ones have to suffer because of gunfire?

The flag is the symbol that is important to raising our consciousness in the long run. If all we have is our memory of the symbol and not why that symbol became important, then we will leave on the table a real memorial to the Charleston 9.

I appreciate the time.

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