[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 42 (Thursday, April 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E506-E507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE CONFEDERATE FLAG

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2000

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, there are a million reasons 
why the Confederate Flag should not be flying over any state capitol, 
comprise a part of any state flag, or be displayed in any place of 
honor or distinction. From its racist past to its polemic present, the 
one thing that can be stated unequivocally, is that today, the flag has 
become shrouded in an over-simplified, revisionist version of American 
history.''
  ``Claims that the flag represents a benign segment of Southern 
history, ruled by some sort of gentile charm and virtuous code of 
conduct, are patently offensive to every American whose ancestors were 
brutalized by the stinging pains of slavery or ostracized by its 
illegitimate progency, Jim Crow.''
  ``This legislation is intended to set the record straight. The 
Leaders of the Confederate States of America were traitors. Had they 
been allowed to succeed in their ultimate act of betrayal, they would 
have destroyed all of the principles and freedoms we hold dear as 
Americans. It is impossible to celebrate the Confederate Flag and 
simultaneously profess one's love of democracy. It is self-delusional 
to attribute equality, freedom and opportunity to the Confederacy when 
its treasonous acts would have destroyed all of these values--these 
American values.''
  ``As our nation tries to deal with rise in conspicuous acts of racial 
violence and hate, the one glaring fact with which we are frequently 
confronted is that we have not adequately and honestly dealt with our 
past. Once again, this resolution will be a constructive first step in 
starting that dialogue. I challenge one person who presently supports 
the flying of the Confederate flag to read the words contained in this 
legislation and say that the beliefs of the Confederacy, articulated in 
this bill, do not stand direct conflict with the principles we enjoy as 
one nation united and indivisible under God.''
  ``At the end of the day, this bill is about the true history of the 
flag flying over the Capitol building in South Carolina. It clarifies 
the symbolism connected with the battle flag contained in the 
Mississippi and Georgia state flags. At the end of the day, this 
legislation begs the question, `Will we, as Americans, united and God-
fearing, allow ourselves to posthumously give the Confederacy the 
divided nation they so desperately fought to create, or will we embrace 
the fundamental principles which presently govern the moral conscience 
of our nation and work toward a day

[[Page E507]]

when the actions of our shared, Americans heroes overshadow the 
treasonous acts of a group of traitors whose actions would have 
destroyed our nation.''

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