Date: 2015-07-09
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. earlier today. the distinguished gentlewoman from California introduced a privileged resolution. not too different from the one my friend and colleague Mr. THOMPSON brought to the floor just last week. Mr. Speaker. that resolution called for the immediate removal of the Confederate battle flag from the Capitol grounds. And my colleagues across the aisle moved quickly to banish that resolution to die in committee. Earlier today. the original home of the Confederacy argued. but agreed. that the Confederate flag and the history it represents belong in a museum. They decided that the flag should not serve as a bright. waving reminder of the discrimination and disparity of treatment for people of color that still lingers in communities across our countryhateful sentiments that resulted in the loss of nine lives at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. They decided that that flag should not hang high above the halls of State government. forcing all those who see it to wonder whether the emotions and ideology so closely tied to it are present in the hearts and minds of those who serve in that statehouse. They decided that the flag had flown long enough. and that taking it down would be one small but critical step in healing the deep divisions present in their State. They stood against the symbol of bigotry. they stood against years of complacency. and they stood for the principles of equality. justice. and unity for this Nation. They will take that flag down tomorrow. But Republican leadership in this body refuses to do that. They took the path of cowardice and turned a blind eye to the struggles of generations of Americans. They used backhanded tactics last night to muddle the language of the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. including language intended to satisfy Members who would rather see that flag fly. The fallout from that language led to the disappearance of that bill from todays scheduled debate and resulted in the chairman of that subcommittee disowning the final product. Leader PELOSIS resolution offered another opportunity for my colleagues across the aisle to stand on the right side of history. but they turned that chance down resoundingly. Mr. Speaker. lets not mince words. While I stand with my brothers and sisters of the South. the Confederacy itself fell far below even common decency for fellow man. violating human rights and taking advantage of every part of the lives of the men and women they enslaved. sometimes for profit and sometimes purely for pleasure. The Confederacy used extreme violence and terrorism to subjugate millions purely on the basis of the color of their skin. and started the deadliest war ever to take place on U.S. soil to defend a disgraceful system. That flag is a symbol of the Confederacys effort to keep that system intact. That is why. Mr. Speaker. before the holiday. I stood in this very spot on the floor to denounce the hate. bigotry. malice. discrimination. and division that the Confederate flag stands for. But I also reminded my colleagues that a symbol. while significant. is only a standin for something far stronger. A symbol will never have the strength of a bullet fired from the barrel of a policemans gun at an unarmed Black man because of ingrained bias. A symbol will never have the impact of a prison sentence that permanently prevents a young person from becoming a fullfledged member of society. a fate far more likely to befall a person of color. A symbol will never eradicate Black and Latino wealth like the predatory loan structures that put their homes underwater in a recession at rates that dwarfed their White peers. But if we are not even willing to get rid of a symbol. as this body has so clearly expressed its disinterest in doing. how can we possibly move on to the real underlying problems. issues like education for young people. affordable housing. and access and training for jobs. Removing a symbol is an easy thing to do. an easy thing that would have signaled one country. indivisible. with liberty and justice for all. Today. Republican Members across the aisle did more than just stand up for that symbol of hate and that symbol of degradation. These Members treated me and those issues that are vitally important and extremely sensitive to me in a manner that was both disrespectful. insensitive. and very hurtful. Mr. Speaker. Nonetheless. this will not go away. We will continue to raise this issue every day that it is needed. every week that it is needed. every month that it is needed. until my colleagues can recognize that a simple act of decency. the removal of this symbol of hate and disrespect and slavery. a mark on our history that needs to be removed. Once we do that. Mr. Speaker. once we do that simple. little thing. and that is to stand together in taking down that ugly symbol that that flag represents. then we will be able to get on with the serious and important work that needs to be done to lift up this economy on behalf of all people. That will be education for all people. and higher education that is affordable for all people. Mr. Speaker. It will be affordable housing. It will be jobs and job training. It will be adequate preschool programs and afterschool programs. It will be recreation programs and characterbuilding programs. It will be safe communities. It will be equal opportunity for all because that is the country that we live in. and that is the reason that we have this Congress. and that is the reason that I am here. I. for one. will not be silent on this issue until we see this change that the 21st century demands. Mr. Speaker. I yield to the gentleman from California .