Political Quotes

“I appreciate the gentleman yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, to someone who has lived his entire life in the State of Mississippi and has had to endure a symbol that represented bigotry, hatred, and everything this country is not, I am convinced that an effort to remove this flag from the hallowed Halls of the House of Representatives is the right thing to do. We all know the history of the South. We know the secessionists' motivations behind the Civil War, and my ancestors were those individuals who were held in bondage against their will. We are a Nation of laws. We should not identify with symbols of hatred and bigotry. That flag, those symbols should be put in a museum. They should not be flown under any circumstance where there is freedom and dignity in this great institution of ours. I know it is a hard choice for Members to do, but I saw what happened in Charleston, South Carolina, last Wednesday. The whole world saw it, and they did not like it. This is one step toward getting us healed as a Nation. I take it personally. I have had churches burned in my district. I have had men and women killed for trying to do the right thing; yet, when I see people trying to defend that way of life which that flag represents, this is not who we are as an institution. Because of that, I offer the privileged resolution. I understand where we are with it, but I have issues with it. I appreciate the gentleman yielding the 2 minutes.…”