Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Payne and Congresswoman Kelly, for leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour tonight. Mr. Speaker, if you have not noticed, the people of this country are fed up. Quite frankly, so am I. We are at a point in our Nation's history when we can no longer give lip service to equality and opportunities to succeed. We must take action to show we mean what we say; otherwise, it is nothing more than empty rhetoric. Mr. Speaker, the Confederate flag is more than just a piece of fabric. It is more than just a visual representation of the Confederacy or part of the storied history of the South. If that were true, we would not be having this conversation today. We would not have buried nine Americans murdered because of the color of their skin, and the Confederate battle flag would still be flying in the State of South Carolina. Let's be honest about the history of the Confederate battle flag. While the majority of this House may want to ignore the facts and rewrite history, we will not be ignored. The Confederate battle flag and any adaptation of it is a painful reminder of intimidation, torture, and murder for all of us in the Black community. It is a flying symbol of hatred and injustice that tells Black and Brown people in this country: Your lives have no value, and you don't matter.…”