Hank Johnson: “This Confederate flag, which is a symbol of systemic oppression and racial subjugation, was recently lowered in the…”

“This Confederate flag, which is a symbol of systemic oppression and racial subjugation, was recently lowered in the State of South Carolina. But this same flag, which symbolizes so many inequities in our country, is still flying high in a figurative sense over our country. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, it signaled that African American voting rights would no longer be protected. Pretending that the legacy of poll taxes, literacy tests, and blatant discrimination was no longer taking place, the Supreme Court symbolically raised this flag when it gutted the Voting Rights Act. Now that this flag has come down from the halls of South Carolina, it is time that we lower this flag from its perch over the voting rights of African Americans by passing the legislation in the U.S. Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act. ____________________”