Congressional Black Caucus

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the ongoing debate over the Confederate battle flag and its placement on state and federal government property. As a daughter of Selma, Alabama, I have a great respect and understanding of the deep heritage and tradition that every Southerner holds close to their heart. But as an American, I find it very troubling that some continue to defend a symbol of obvious and demonstrated hatred. From its creation, the flag was a denotation of the intention to segregate and enslave African Americans.

While some people genuinely revere the Confederate Battle Flag because of its connection to their ancestors, there can be little doubt that it is cherished by groups and individuals expressing racial hatred. As my colleague and friend John Lewis declared in this Chamber last week, the state troopers wore the flag on their helmets as they beat him and nearly took his life at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. It is clear that the flag is overwhelmingly associated with some of the darkest sins of our nation's past. The original intention of the flag saw resurgence in the 1950s as an expression of resistance to the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation. In 1963, Governor George Wallace raised the Confederate Battle Flag over the Alabama State Capitol as a protest to then U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit to Alabama to urge desegregation. This very reaction to the rise of civil rights for African-Americans proves its symbolism as one of racial segregation and not one of heritage.

But let there be no mistake. The removal of this divisive symbol does not cure our society of all discrimination. Hatred stubbornly lingers on even after these flags are lowered. Removing flags from federally owned property or from a state's capitol grounds is a strong step forward, but it is not a final solution to our society's deeply entrenched structural oppression. Much more needs to be done to combat discrimination in our society and in our public institutions.

The United States has always been a beacon of progress and equality, so it stuns me that we continue to be shackled to these discriminatory symbols. The destiny of America is always in the future, not the past. We can learn from the past, both good and ill, but it is to the future that we must always direct our focus and our ambitions. We must forge a path forward, away from the symbols of the darkest times in our nation's history. Racism will end when we confront the hate behind the heritage with unity and reconciliation.

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