[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 39 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E433-E434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               FLAG ISSUE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 22, 2001

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I submit the following article for the Record.

   (By Roy E. Barnes, Governor, to Georgia House of Representatives)

       Forty years ago, faced with court orders to integrate and 
     with demonstrations by Georgians who wanted the University of 
     Georgia and the state's public schools closed instead, the 
     people who stood in our places did the right thing.
       The schools stayed open.
       And Governor Ernest Vandiver told the General Assembly 
     that, unless Georgia faced up to the issue and moved on, it 
     would ``devour progress--consuming all in its path--pitting 
     friend against friend demoralizing all that is good--stifling 
     the economic growth of the state.''
       We have a great deal to be proud of as Georgians--our 
     history, our heritage, our state's great natural beauty--but 
     nothing should make us prouder than the way Georgia has led 
     the South by focusing on the things that unite us instead of 
     dwelling on those that divide us.
       While the government of Arkansas used the armed forces of 
     the state to prevent nine black students from enrolling at 
     Little Rock's Central High School, while the Governor of 
     Alabama stood defiantly in a schoolhouse door, Georgia 
     quietly concentrated on growing our economy, on the goals 
     that bring us together rather than those that can tear us 
     apart.
       And, in the process, Georgia established itself as the 
     leader of the New South.
       Forty years ago, Birmingham was about the same size as 
     Atlanta, and Alabama's population and economy were almost as 
     big as ours.
       Georgia moved ahead because its leaders looked ahead.
       Anyone who doesn't realize that's why Georgia has become 
     the fastest growing state east of the Rocky Mountains does 
     not understand economic development.
       I am a Southerner.
       My wife is named May-REE.
       I like collard greens with fried streak-o-lean, catfish--
     tails and all, fried green tomatoes, cat head biscuits and 
     red eye gravy.
       My heart swells with pride when I see a football game on a 
     crisp fall Saturday.
       I still cry when I hear Amazing Grace.
       My great grandfather was captured at Vicksburg fighting for 
     the Confederacy, and I still visit his grave in the foothills 
     of Gilmer County.
       I am proud of him.
       But I am also proud that we have come so far that my 
     children find it hard to believe that we ever had segregated 
     schools or separate water fountains labeled ``white'' and 
     ``colored.''
       And I am proud that these changes came about because unity 
     prevailed over division.
       Today, that same effort and energy of unity must be 
     exercised again.
       The Confederate Battle Flag occupies two-thirds of our 
     current state flag.
       Some argue that it is a symbol of segregation, defiance, 
     and white supremacy. Others that it is a testament to a brave 
     and valiant people who were willing to die to defend their 
     homes and hearth.
       I am not here to settle this argument--because no one can--
     but I am here because it is time to end it.
       To end it before it divides us into warring camps, before 
     it reverses four decades of economic growth and progress, 
     before it deprives Georgia of its place of leadership--in 
     other words before it does irreparable harm to the future we 
     want to leave for our children.
       As Governor Vandiver said four decades ago this month: 
     ``That is too big a price to pay for inaction.
       ``The time has come when we must act--act in Georgia's 
     interest--act in the future interest of Georgia's youth.''
       And, as Denmark Groover--Governor Marvin Griffin's floor 
     leader and the man who assured adoption of the current flag 
     in 1956 told the Rules Committee this morning:
       ``This is the most divisive issue in the political 
     spectrum, and it must be put to rest.''
       Denmark Groover is right. It is time to put this issue to 
     rest and to do so in the spirit of compromise.
       This morning the House Rules Committee passed out a bill to 
     make Georgia's flag represent Georgia's history--all of 
     Georgia's history.
       Both personally and on behalf of the people of Georgia, I 
     want to thank Calvin Smyre, Larry Walker, Tyrone Brooks, and 
     Austin Scott for their work to bring the people of Georgia 
     together.
       The Walker Rules Committee substitute takes the original 
     Georgia flag--the Great Seal of Georgia set against a 
     background of blue--and adds a banner showing all of 
     Georgia's other flags. It has the National Flag of the 
     Confederacy and the Confederate Battle Flag, as
       The bill also has a provision preserving Confederate 
     monuments and says our current state flag should be displayed 
     in events marking Georgia's role in the Confederacy.
       To those who say they cannot accept this because the 
     Confederate flag is still in the banner, you are wrong. The 
     Confederacy is a part of Georgia's history.
       To those who say they are opposed to this because it 
     changes the current flag, you are wrong also. The Confederacy 
     is part of our history, but it is not two-thirds of our 
     history.
       It is time to honor my great grandfather and the Georgians 
     of his time by reclaiming the flag they fought under from 
     controversy and division.
       The Walker Rules Committee substitute preserves and 
     protects our heritage, but it does not say that, as 
     Southerners and as Georgians, the Confederacy is our sole 
     reason to exist as a people.
       Defeating this compromise will confirm the worst that has 
     been said about us and, in the process, dishonor a brave 
     people.
       Adopt this flag and our people will be united as one rather 
     than divided by race and hatred.
       Adopt this flag and we will honor our ancestors without 
     giving aide to those who would abuse their legacy.
       Georgia has prospered because we have refused to be 
     divided.
       We have worked together, and the nation and the world have 
     taken notice.
       We are where we are today, the envy of other states, 
     because decades ago our leaders accepted change while others 
     defied it.
       In the long run, it has paid us handsome dividends.
       Today, the eyes of the nation and the world are on us again 
     to see whether Georgia is still a leader or whether we will 
     slip into the morass of past recriminations.
       I have heard all the reasons not to change the flag and 
     adopt this compromise: ``it will hurt me politically''; 
     ``this is how we can become a majority''; ``this is our wedge 
     issue''; ``this is the way we use race to win.''
       Using race to win leaves ashes in the mouths of the 
     victors.

[[Page E434]]

       If there is anything we should have learned from our 
     history, it is that using racial bigotry for political 
     advantage always backfires. Sometimes in the short run, 
     sometimes in the long run. Often both.
       And if you allow yourself to be dragged along in its raging 
     current--even if only briefly--you will live the rest of your 
     life regretting your mistake.
       I know.
       Seventeen years ago this General Assembly debated whether 
     to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. a state 
     holiday.
       Many of the arguments I heard then I hear again today.
       ``What will they want next?''
       ``You know you can't satisfy them.''
       The argument that gave the most political cover was 
     ``Martin Luther King was a great man, but we already have 
     enough holidays, and we don't need any more.''
       I was a young state senator, and my calls and constituents, 
     for whatever reason, were against the King Holiday. I knew it 
     was the right thing to do, but I was so worried about my 
     political future that I did what many legislators do: when 
     the vote came up, I had important business elsewhere.
       1 knew instantly I'd made a mistake. So when the bill came 
     back to the Senate for agreement, I voted for it.
       I was immediately besieged by constituents; so on final 
     agreement, I voted against it.
       There is not a day that goes by that I do not regret that 
     vote.
       Fortunately, there were enough leaders in this General 
     Assembly then with the wisdom and the fortitude that I lacked 
     as a young legislator.
       Don't make my mistake.
       Each of you knows the right thing to do.
       You know it in your heart.
       You know it in your mind.
       You know it in your conscience.
       And, in the end, that is all that matters.
       When the dust settles and controversy fades, will history 
     record you as just another politician or as a person of 
     conscience?
       Make no mistake, just as with me and a vote almost 20 years 
     ago, history will make a judgment.
       Robert E. Lee once said ``it is good that war is terrible, 
     otherwise men would grow fond of it.''
       This is not an issue upon which we should have war.
       Our people do not need to bleed the color of red Georgia 
     clay.
       This is an issue that demands cool heads and moderate 
     positions.
       Preserving our past, but also preserving our future.
       And not allowing the hope of partisan advantage to prohibit 
     the healing of our people.
       Like most of you, I am a mixture of old and new, of respect 
     and honor for the past, and of hope for the future.
       The children of tomorrow look to us today for leadership.
       If we show them the courage of our convictions, they will 
     one day honor us as we honor the true leaders of decades 
     past.
       Do your duty--because that is what God requires of all of 
     us.

     

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