Political Quotes

“As we continue to grapple with the issues of race and justice in our country, I rise today to share a story of tragedy and progress from my own district. More than a century ago, Charlie Hale, a young African-American male in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was abducted, brought into the city square, strung up, and shot simply because of the color of his skin. No arrests were ever made in his murder. Decades passed. Charlie's name was forgotten, and in a cruel twist of irony, a Confederate monument was erected mere steps away from the site of his murder. And so it stood for decades, until now. That Confederate monument stands no longer. It was removed following our country's long-overdue racial reckoning this past year. In its place will stand a memorial to the life and death of Charlie Hale. I want to recognize the leadership of Marlene Taylor-Crawford and her work with the Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition Project, the Gwinnett Historical Restoration and Preservation Board, and all the activists who pushed for this change for years. The dirt where his blood was spilled will be collected and displayed in perpetuity in Gwinnett County, as well as the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery. I want to be clear: Even more than a century later, this does not make things right by Charlie Hale or those who loved him and lost him. But it does take an important step to ensure the injustices of the past are not forgotten. ____________________”