[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 107 (Friday, July 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H5034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE CONFEDERATE FLAG
(Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, we must not display the Confederate battle
flag in any Federal park or cemetery or building. The Confederate flag
represents racism, slavery, and treason, waging war against the United
States, killing American soldiers.
We are told it represents the Southern heritage. It does represent
part of the Southern, of the American heritage, a shameful part: the
defense of slavery, of owning people body and soul, of the doctrine of
racial superiority, and the practice of racial oppression.
Other countries and peoples have shameful parts of their heritages.
Germany, for example, has a Nazi heritage. The Germans are properly
ashamed of it. They prohibit, by law, the display of Nazi imagery. The
First Amendment won't let us go that far, but we should not honor the
shameful parts of our history.
As we continue the ongoing struggle to eradicate racism from American
life, we must no longer honor racism and treason by allowing the
Confederate flag on any Federal property.
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