On the recordJuly 13, 2015
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.…
