[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 108 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5109-H5115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members be given 5 days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, we are here tonight to have an 
important conversation, a conversation that is long overdue, a 
conversation that is crucial to healing America's deep racial wounds, 
our topic being the Confederate battle flag and why racial symbols 
matter.
  The Charleston 9 killings focused many of our attention on the 
significant appropriateness and bigoted history of this flag. In 2015, 
why do so many still revere a flag that tolerated the shackling of 
people because of their skin, a flag that allowed human beings to be 
counted as three-fifths of a person, a flag that was flown during 
lynchings, the holding of children, and one that symbolized a movement 
to deny education and equal treatment under our laws?

  Fifty years since Selma, we think of the Freedom Riders, marchers, 
boycotters, protesters, and policymakers who pointed our Nation in a 
more positive direction. They knew it was time to reject the traditions 
of the past.
  The civil rights movement symbolized the quest of equality and a 
change in mood for America. Thousands from all backgrounds had the 
courage to join in peaceful protests, lunch counter sit-ins, and 
boycotts at the expense of being jailed, beaten, or killed. They did 
this for one Nation and one flag.
  And in the way of these Americans stood those who believed in the 
perseverance of inequality, who believed in an America of White and 
colored, an America of two flags, and the Confederate battle flag 
represented their America.
  Jim Crow America saw States that seceded from the Union, reacting to 
the growth of the civil rights movement, with the use of the 
Confederate battle flag as the representation of their resistant 
movement.
  In 1956, the State of Georgia incorporated the battle flag into its 
official State flag design. The movement continued into the sixties, 
where it met renewed and intensified opposition, opposition that waved 
the Confederate battle flag in the name of continued racial oppression.
  In 1961, just 2 months after the sentencing of nine students arrested 
for a lunch counter sit-in in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the 
Confederate battle flag was raised over South Carolina's State house 
during a centennial celebration of the Civil War's opening.
  That same year, in neighboring Georgia, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton 
Holmes were the first two African American students to be admitted to 
the University of Georgia. Their admission only came after a court 
order sent from Federal court.
  Eleven days after arriving on campus, Hunter and Holmes were attacked 
by a mob of White rioters who threw rocks and bottles at them while 
waving the rebel flag. The attacks were so fierce that the dean of 
students suspended both Hunter and Holmes for their own safety.
  Now, even with me highlighting this violence, we are told that the 
stars and bars are about heritage. That heritage, Mr. Speaker, is not 
so subtle a reminder to African Americans that they are less than--
maybe not three-fifths of a person, but still not equal.
  This is a reminder that there are two classes of citizens. And 
despite our Declaration of Independence clearly stating that all men 
are created equal, this is a reminder that there is a lesser class and 
will never be equal.
  But why are we honoring the heritage and flag of the hooded night 
riders of the Klan at our State houses and in this Congress instead of 
the flag of the Freedom Riders who died for a single, fair, and equal 
America?
  Two years after Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his ``I have 
dream'' speech before 600 civil rights marchers, including our friend 
and colleague from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis, a different group 
of civil rights heroes were greeted by police officers in Selma, 
Alabama, proudly displaying the Confederate flag on the side of their 
helmets.
  These officers brutally beat the marchers, and their actions were a 
reminder that Dr. King's speech had not yet resonated in the hearts of 
those who needed to hear it most.
  But it was the undeterred resilience of the protesters who refused to 
back down and refused to resort to violence that persevered. It was the 
love, the respect, and the mutual understanding that displayed what was 
the strongest symbol of strength, honor, and heritage than the 
Confederate battle flag.
  Mr. Speaker, we have come a long way since 1965, but we still have a 
ways to go. We must move forward. The needed progress, however, will 
not come if the Federal Government continues to provide American 
citizens with reminders of our hateful and oppressive past in a manner 
that legitimizes such hate.
  I am glad to host this important Special Order hour with my colleague 
from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) to talk about where we go from here and why 
we continue to give energy to symbols of hate and division.
  I yield to the kind gentleman from Newark, New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois.
  This is a very timely topic, as we have seen what has transpired in 
our Nation over the past several weeks. It is incredible to me how fast 
this issue has moved over the past month. But it always seems that it 
takes a horrific act in this country for us to wake up and realize that 
maybe something isn't right.

                              {time}  1930

  Nine people at church study on a Wednesday night, not knowing their 
fate, were gunned down in cold blood by someone who actually said: You 
know, they were so nice to me, I almost didn't do it, but I had to.
  Last week in South Carolina, there was a monumental step in removing 
the Confederate flag from its State capitol, where it had shamefully 
flown for 54 years; but here in our Nation's Capitol last week, 
Republicans tried to go back to the future.
  House Republicans had to pull a vote on a spending bill because some 
of their Members opposed a measure that would ban Confederate flags 
from national cemeteries, and when the Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, 
presented an opportunity for Republicans to do the right thing and 
immediately remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol Grounds, they 
punted.
  South Carolina, the birthplace of the Confederacy, had the courage to 
do what the House Republicans did not, remove that dreaded symbol. It 
is the symbol of an incomprehensible hate, a hate that manifested 
itself in a massacre. Since that unfortunate day 1 month ago, we, as a 
nation, have been forced to look inward at who we are and who we want 
to be.
  Mr. Speaker, out of this immense grief of that dark day in Charleston 
came a resounding call throughout our Nation to remove the Confederate 
flag and other symbols of racism and racial supremacy. For many, the 
removal of these symbols is a logical step in the trajectory of our 
Nation, a necessary action on the path toward the more perfect Union.
  For others, calls to remove these symbols of hate are seen as an 
attack

[[Page H5110]]

on the Southern identity, heritage, and culture; but arguing that the 
Confederate flag is a symbol of Southern pride celebrates a single 
homogenous culture.
  It means listening to only some voices at the expense of others. It 
means ignoring the African American experience throughout our Nation's 
history from the dark period of slavery to the civil rights movement to 
the present day.
  According to a report by the Equal Justice Initiative, 3,959 African 
Americans in 12 States were killed by the terror of lynching between 
1877 and 1950, 3,959 Americans lynched.
  If we are going to refer to the past and debate over the Confederate 
flag, certainly, we need to take all of this into account. The 
Confederate flag has always stood for racial supremacy and bigotry, and 
if we are to realize our Nation's promise of justice and full equality, 
we cannot embrace this symbol. Eradicating symbols of hatred, violence, 
and cruel oppression steeped in racism is a critical step to 
confronting prejudice in our society.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we have all heard complaints that this debate does 
not matter and that removing the Confederate flag and other symbols of 
hatred is a distraction from the larger problems facing our Nation, 
such as rampant gun violence.
  I agree that significantly more must be done to address racism and 
persistent inequality in our Nation. I agree that we need meaningful 
gun reform from expanding background checks to reducing unchecked 
online ammunition purchases. I agree that we need to create jobs, 
reduce wealth disparities, and expand educational opportunities.
  But symbols matter; symbols legitimize public opinion and, in doing 
so, entrench attitudes and beliefs. At the same time, they create a 
meaning, shape actions, and connect us to one another. Just as a symbol 
can connect us, they can tear us apart.
  Mr. Speaker, as I go to my seat, I was talking to my staff the other 
day about this and how much we were happy to see that flag lowered. The 
symbol is gone, but the sentiment remains.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congressman Payne, for those words. 
Right now, it is my pleasure to introduce the Congressman from North 
Carolina and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman 
Butterfield.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank you, Congresswoman 
Kelly and Congressman Payne, for your leadership. Your leadership is 
very much appreciated, and your constituents in your respective 
districts should be very proud of each one of you. I know the 
Congressional Black Caucus is proud of you.
  For the past several weeks, Mr. Speaker, the Nation has been focused 
on the Confederate battle flag. Most fair-minded Americans have been 
asking the question: Why is this flag continuing to fly on State 
grounds and Federal lands? And why are policymakers refusing to 
squarely address this issue?
  The Confederate battle flag, Mr. Speaker, represents an era of 
American history that ended--or at least it should have ended--150 
years ago. This flag represents the years following President Lincoln's 
election. Those years starting in December of 1860 saw 11 Southern 
States leave the Union.
  The fancy name for their leaving the Union, Mr. Speaker, was called 
secession, but the reality was that these Southern States were 
rebelling. They were in rebellion against the Union. They organized a 
so-called government called the Confederate States of America. They 
took up arms, Mr. Speaker, and they fought against the Union for 4 long 
years until they surrendered.
  They then returned to the Union. The Confederate flag represents that 
era where Southern States were resisting freedom for 4 million slaves. 
There continues to be elements today in our society who subscribe to 
separation of the races--how unfortunate. There continues to be 
elements in our society who believe in White supremacy.
  The question now, Mr. Speaker, is: Do we constructively address the 
question of hate groups in America? Do we continue to insist that other 
States remove symbols of White supremacy as South Carolina has done? Or 
do we continue to simply ignore racism?
  Other States continue to display Confederate flags, and even in this 
Capitol--even in this Capitol--you will find eight statues of 
Confederate soldiers who fought against the Stars and Stripes.
  Mr. Speaker, I call upon every American to bury for good the dark 
history of slavery and bigotry. We are a great nation, and we will be 
even greater when we can judge our neighbor on the content of their 
character and not on the color of their skin.
  Let's remove these symbols from our view. I thank each one of the 
floor managers.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congressman Butterfield, for those 
fine words. Many questions, many questions: Why are they still holding 
on? Is it just heritage and tradition? Or is it something more?
  At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce the gentlewoman 
from the District of Columbia, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois, and my friend, the gentleman from New 
Jersey, for their important leadership they are exercising here this 
evening.
  Mr. Speaker, I have come to speak about why symbols matter and why 
this symbol, the Confederate flag, must not stop with the flag, but 
must also go to what to do not only about the flag, but about the guns 
that took down the Charleston 9.
  To be sure, symbols matter, Mr. Speaker. To take two of the most 
powerful symbols in the world, the cross and the Star of David, we know 
well these symbols can sometimes mean everything. We also know that the 
Confederate flag is a symbol of a different and lower order.
  A symbol stands for more than itself; the symbol tells a story. The 
religious symbols evoke tears; they evoke joy, and they evoke their own 
set of stories. The Confederate flag, when it led to the extraordinary 
tragedy of the Charleston 9 will always--should always--make us think 
of the gun that was responsible for the Charleston 9--not just the 
symbol, but the story behind the symbol.
  In the 19th century, the flag signaled the importance of slavery. In 
the 20th century, it had a different meaning. Robert E. Lee had told 
his soldiers:

       Put down the flag. We are one Union now.

  He was, in a real sense, the counterpart to Abraham Lincoln, who was 
trying to draw us together after Lee had lost that war.
  In the 20th century, the flag was revived. It was revived by Southern 
Democrats--Dixiecrats, as they called themselves. It has been, in the 
20th century and, now, the 21st century, a symbol of discrimination and 
racism. No matter what it stood for in the 19th century about heritage, 
it lost that meaning when, in the 20th century, George Wallace raised 
it and said ``segregation now'' and ``segregation forever.'' Nobody who 
now speaks of heritage then said: Wait a minute, Governor Wallace, 
don't take away our heritage.
  Only when African Americans have the nerve to raise the notion, after 
we lost nine good people in Charleston, does it somehow now become a 
symbol of heritage.
  I will give Senator Mitch McConnell some credit. He wants to remove 
the statue of Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky State Capitol, but when 
asked about removing the Jefferson Davis statue from the United States 
Capitol, Mr. McConnell grew silent.
  We have got to come to grips with what this flag meant to this boy 
who used a gun. I am not going to forget those who died and what we owe 
those who died.
  The Dixiecrats bolted from Harry S. Truman when Truman refused to 
embrace their racism. These were Southern Democrats, and we owe them 
the 21st century meaning of the Confederate flag.
  Mr. Speaker, why are we talking about this symbol and not another 
symbol? The other symbol is the gun in America.
  The grace of the people of Charleston so overwhelmed the country that 
there were many who were simply grateful that, instead of bursting 
forward with rage, they showed their extraordinary Christian heritage, 
the heritage they undoubtedly shared with the gunman. We were so 
grateful, all of us, and so proud that we have not talked about

[[Page H5111]]

what took the lives of these nine good people.
  Well, I want to talk about it because the Confederate flag for me now 
will always represent those nine people and the gun that took their 
lives. That 21-year-old kid didn't know anything about them except 
their Christian love when they invited him into their sanctuary.
  But, he knew about what that flag stood for, and he raised that flag 
before he went into that sanctuary.

                              {time}  2000

  We must not forget not only the flag--we cannot live by symbols 
alone--we must not forget the gun that took down the Charleston 9.
  Now, I understand--I read--that Senator Manchin and Senator Toomey 
are interested in reviving their gun safety legislation. There are 
several bills here in the House that do that in one form or another.
  We know what happened. There was a breakdown in the background check 
system, which is why this young man was even able to get a gun. He 
would have been denied a gun if those who opposed any bill hadn't 
assured that the bill would have only a 3-day time period, during 
which, if you couldn't find something on the individual, then he got 
his gun, no matter who he was. That is how he got his gun.
  There are some of us who know full well that the Confederate flag has 
done more than put the flag back on the agenda--on the Nation's 
agenda--it has put gun safety once again on the agenda.
  I must say, I don't believe we, who celebrate the extraordinary grace 
of the families of the Charleston 9, owe them only our speeches about 
the flag. They probably, once they saw it come down, have moved on; and 
now, they have only their loved ones to think about.
  If I were one of them, I would wonder: What are those who celebrate 
the flag coming down going to do about making sure that, never again, 
will people like our loved ones have to suffer because of gunfire?
  The flag is the symbol that is important to raising our consciousness 
in the long run. If all we have is our memory of the symbol and not why 
that symbol became important, then we will leave on the table a real 
memorial to the Charleston 9.
  I appreciate the time.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congresswoman Holmes. I am so glad 
that you and Congressman Payne brought up the issue of the gun because 
we cannot forget that either. I look at Charleston as when racism and 
hate found the gun.
  At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), our 
former head of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I want 
to thank my colleagues, Congressman Payne and Congresswoman Kelly, for 
leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, if you have not noticed, the people of this country are 
fed up. Quite frankly, so am I. We are at a point in our Nation's 
history when we can no longer give lip service to equality and 
opportunities to succeed. We must take action to show we mean what we 
say; otherwise, it is nothing more than empty rhetoric.
  Mr. Speaker, the Confederate flag is more than just a piece of 
fabric. It is more than just a visual representation of the Confederacy 
or part of the storied history of the South. If that were true, we 
would not be having this conversation today. We would not have buried 
nine Americans murdered because of the color of their skin, and the 
Confederate battle flag would still be flying in the State of South 
Carolina.
  Let's be honest about the history of the Confederate battle flag. 
While the majority of this House may want to ignore the facts and 
rewrite history, we will not be ignored. The Confederate battle flag 
and any adaptation of it is a painful reminder of intimidation, 
torture, and murder for all of us in the Black community. It is a 
flying symbol of hatred and injustice that tells Black and Brown people 
in this country: Your lives have no value, and you don't matter.
  It is an embarrassment to all Americans that the majority of this 
House introduced a spending amendment which included language allowing 
the battle flag on Federal properties.
  It is just plain shameful that they would go even further and use 
procedure to stifle a motion to openly discuss a ban of the Confederate 
battle flag imagery from the Capitol Grounds.
  How can the Members of the majority of this House continue to say 
that they represent all Americans when they refuse to have a real 
discussion about what is really happening in our country? Have we 
learned nothing from what has happened in the past few weeks?
  In a June Gallup poll, African Americans ranked race relations as the 
most important issue facing the United States. Will taking down the 
Confederate battle flag immediately change this perspective? Absolutely 
not--but it will certainly do more than letting it continue to fly.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time we do away with lip service. It is time we 
listen to our constituents and take real action toward healing the 
racial wounds of this country. It is time we move forward.
  The flag must come down.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Fudge for 
her eloquent words and the truth of what happened in Congress last week 
and what we need to do to go forward.
  At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from Houston, Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the managers of this very 
Special Order and my words to them and to this House. I want you to 
take note of the spirit in which these Members have come.
  If our constituents are seeing us and watching us, if those who agree 
with us are watching, no one has come with anger and a cry of hysteria. 
They have come with a reasoned request and pronouncement of the 
wrongness of the present situation in this House.
  Let me say that it was in 1864 that the States were given the call to 
send forward two statutes to come to represent their States in the 
United States Congress. In addition, we know that the United States 
Congress has a number of flags representing various States.
  This was to be the people's House, and the people's House would 
reflect the people of the United States of America. History should be 
something that grows with the Nation and reflects the goodness of the 
Nation. Yes, there is history that should be taught, such as the 
ugliness and violence of the slave history; but it is not to be 
honored.
  I join my colleagues today to be able to call for the taking down of 
signs of Confederacy in the United States Capitol--in particular, as I 
am in the House of Representatives, in the people's House.
  Let me give you a credible basis upon which to do so, why this 
Supreme Court decision has been so ignored. Let me cite it for my 
colleagues, Walker III v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, 
issued on June 18, 2015--ironically, the day after the martyrdom of 
nine wonderful African Americans practicing their Christian faith.
  This particular decision indicates that the State of Texas was to be 
supported. This was a case that engaged many of our constituents in 
Texas. We organize and galvanize.
  I want to thank Dr. Clark, the president of the Missionary Baptist 
General Convention of Texas, and Reverend Max Miller, who came up as we 
argued this case. We were convincing. The Texas Department of Motor 
Vehicles board agreed that a Confederate license plate issued by the 
State of Texas would be offensive and would be considered, in essence, 
a public action or public speech.
  For those who want to raise the question of the First Amendment, this 
cry that we, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are making 
is perfectly constitutional and legitimate. We are talking about flags 
that are flown on State property or Federal property.
  This caucus should be congratulated. It is succinct in its argument; 
it is detailed in its argument, and no First Amendment opposition can 
be raised because the Supreme Court of the United States has said that 
we can deny utilizing the Confederate flag that may be considered State 
action as it is placed on Federal lands on the Federal property here.

[[Page H5112]]

  Our colleagues, in particular Hakeem Jeffries and Mr. Huffman and 
others, understood that when they acted last week. Now, the considerate 
thing to have done is there are amendments to stay in place, the 
Interior bill to be voted on, and the right thing would have been done 
because they argued the point that this was State or Federal action.
  We now come again to try and clarify for our colleagues that these 
flags should come down. In the privileged resolutions that have gone on 
last week, they made the point very clear that it was an insult to the 
dignity of the House.
  I have introduced H. Res. 342 that I hope will complement, and it is 
one that talks about the enhancement of unity in America and stands on 
the Walker decision and, in particular, makes it very clear that 
divisive symbols--license plates, specialty license plates, replicas, 
and flags--on public buildings or government property and symbols on 
State or Federal action, State public speech--that is a speech of those 
you represent--should not be allowed.
  How divisive is that point of view? It is not. The divisiveness is 
those that stand on a false sense of history, yet want to offend those 
who likewise have great leadership.
  Let me make this point about the battle flag, this Confederate flag. 
Might I ask the question: Have southerners not fought in the War of 
1812, in World War I, in World War II, in the Korean war, in the 
Hungarian war in the fifties, and in Vietnam and shed their blood under 
this flag, have they not been honored when they have shed their blood?
  Not only that, when Confederate soldiers died, they were honored 
appropriately in graves where those who desired to honor that shedding 
of the blood were allowed to do so. We did not run into the funerals of 
those Southern fallen soldiers and cast upon them and curse them and 
deny them. They were allowed to be honored appropriately, and they now 
go into the annals of history.
  When you understand what grounds they stood on, what their general 
stood on, such as Jefferson Davis, who called the individuals who were 
slaves as unprofitable savages--that is what one general who has been 
honored has called them, ``unprofitable savages''--is that the history 
that we should be honoring?
  Is that what we should be lifting up? Is that what should be placed 
in the place of honor in the United States Congress? Is that engaged in 
the uplifting of the dignity of the House? Or is it insulting the 
dignity of the House?
  To my colleagues, I stand with you today to join in trying to create 
an understanding of the rightness of the work of our colleagues last 
week on the Interior bill, of the rightness of the Congressional Black 
Caucus going, as someone would say, on and on and on about this flag; 
and my good friend from New Jersey said it is symbols, and we need to 
bridge the gap of the inequity and wealth, we need education, we need 
jobs.
  Let me be very clear, Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus and 
my colleagues and the Democratic Caucus and good will Republicans are 
fighting for jobs--or should be--fighting for education. We are not 
languishing along the side highway of life. We fought to maintain the 
ObamaCare or the Affordable Care Act. We are not ignoring the other 
desires of our constituents.
  Let me close on this final point, and I am glad that my colleague 
from the District of Columbia raised it, and Congresswoman Kelly has 
been a leader, and Congresswoman Kelly, let's rise again, and that is 
the horror of gun violence.

                              {time}  2015

  Let me say to Director Comey, since I am on the Judiciary Committee, 
thank you for your honesty, but let me make it very clear that we 
suffered this loophole because of the opposition to the sensibleness of 
the Brady anti-gun violence legislation.
  Imbedded in it was this nonsensical point that, if I don't hear from 
you, then I am going to sell it. Who is selling it? The gun store.
  I have no opposition to our fellow citizens who make their living and 
provide for their families by selling guns. I do have opposition to the 
evil and vile perpetrator who went into that Mother Emanuel Church and 
killed illegally with a gun that he should not have had.
  He did so because the 3-day time had expired, because there was a 
time when the NICS was closed--that is the entity that the FBI relies 
upon--and the 3 days expired, and the owner said, ``I am going to sell 
the gun.''
  This week I will be introducing a single piece of legislation--and I 
ask my colleagues to join me--I know there are many other bills--to 
eliminate the 3-day period of discretion, that no discretion will 
exist. They either answer the question that he or she is eligible or it 
is denied.
  So on the graves of these wonderful martyrs, I stand in honor of 
them. I mourn them, and I mourn for their families. I say to them: We 
will never forget.
  Once and for all, bring the flag down and remove these items in this 
place of honor that have denigrated and considered one race of people 
vile and unequal.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congresswoman Jackson Lee. Always 
detailed and insightful. Thank you for all of your work on the 
Judiciary Committee. It is very much appreciated and hailed.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), 
who took center stage last week as we discussed and worked toward the 
removal of the flag.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. I want to thank my good friend, the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Illinois, Robin Kelly, for once again presiding over 
this important CBC Special Order hour, as well as her co-anchor, the 
distinguished gentleman from New Jersey, who is right across the Hudson 
River, and who so ably serves the communities of Newark and beyond.
  Mr. Speaker, this evening we have heard from so many distinguished 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus, most recently from the 
gentlewoman from Texas, with whom I serve on the Judiciary Committee, 
about the importance of the moment in time in which we find ourselves 
right now related to not just the Confederate battle flag, but perhaps 
more importantly: What is the legacy that we want to have as Americans, 
as Members of Congress, in dealing with the complicated issue of race?
  It is an honor and a privilege to once again have the chance to come 
to the House floor to have this conversation.
  This is a most distinguished venue from which to speak to the 
American people, an appropriate one, I would add, given the House's 
constitutional relationship to the people of America, this, of course, 
being the only institution that was envisioned by the Founding Fathers 
as one in which the people serving in the institution would be directly 
elected by the people.
  The Senate's Members, of course, in its original constitutional 
version, were elected by the State legislature. Then, of course, the 
Presidency, to this day, is a vehicle through which the individual is 
selected by the Electoral College.
  So this is the people's House, the institution most intimately 
connected to the people of America and the place where we should be 
able to speak truth to power.
  We witnessed that last week as we were forced, unfortunately, to 
discuss the issue of the Confederate battle flag at a moment when 
people of all races--Democrats and Republicans, Blacks, Whites, the 
extraordinary leadership from the Governor of South Carolina, and the 
distinguished gentleman from South Carolina, Jim Clyburn--came 
together.
  At the moment when the Confederate battle flag was coming down in 
South Carolina, there were Members of this House trying to lift it up.
  It was quite unfortunate that we needed to detour from this moment 
that we were having in America, led in South Carolina, to address the 
battle flag issue on this House floor; but I am hopeful that, as we 
move forward now in a more productive way, we can begin to confront 
some of the public policy challenges that we face in America that 
supporters of the Confederate battle flag have fought against.
  As others have detailed during the presentation here today, the 
battle flag, which met its initial defeat in 1865 at the end of the 
Civil War, remained

[[Page H5113]]

largely dormant in American history until 1954 in the Supreme Court's 
decision of Brown vs. Board of Education.
  It was decided that this facade of separate and equal was 
constitutionally suspect and that African Americans were being denied 
the opportunity of being educated in quality public schools in the Deep 
South and in other places in America.
  Really, it was in the mid-fifties and then into the early sixties 
when the Confederate battle flag was resurrected as a symbol of the 
segregationists who were fighting to uphold Jim Crow.
  It was a symbol of those who were fighting to stop the efforts of 
courageous individuals like Congressman John Lewis, who in 1965 was the 
co-chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
  It was a symbol of those who were trying to fight efforts by John 
Lewis and others to make sure that the franchise--the right to vote--
was colorblind in nature and that the 15th Amendment could actually be 
brought to life all throughout America and in the Deep South, where 
there were those who were trying to prevent African Americans from 
being able to vote. The battle flag was resurrected in the fifties and 
in the sixties to stop certain things from happening.
  It seems to me that, rather than having the discussion about whether 
it should come down, no reasonable person can take the position that it 
should have a place of honor. So it is extraordinary to me that we had 
to take to the House floor last week and have to come to the House 
floor today to continue to address this issue.

  Hopefully, reason will prevail over the next couple of weeks or the 
next couple of days--even prior to the August recess--and we can move 
beyond the Confederate battle flag issue and address some important, 
substantive issues that many would argue remain as part of the legacy 
of the Confederacy. We don't want to see the ghosts of the Confederacy 
invading the United States Congress from a policy perspective.
  Those nine souls--God-fearing, church-going African Americans--who 
were killed simply because of the color of their skin died because of 
someone who charged into that church with the intention of sparking a 
race war that was inspired, in part, by the Confederate battle flag.
  One of the things that has happened as a result of that tragedy is 
the battle flag has come down, but that is just the beginning of the 
work that we need to do in response to that tragedy and the conditions 
that so many people find themselves in all across America.
  As has been mentioned, we have got to confront the gun violence issue 
that we have in the United States. How can it be that we have 5 percent 
of the world's population, but 50 percent of the world's guns?
  It is estimated that we have more than 285 million guns in 
circulation. Nobody can give you an exact estimate because a chokehold 
has been placed around the Federal agencies charged with preventing gun 
violence and dealing with gun safety in America. It is an incredible 
act of legislative malpractice, but it is estimated that we have got 
over 285 million guns in America.
  Isn't it reasonable, particularly in the aftermath of this tragedy in 
Charleston, South Carolina, that we come together and figure out a way 
to prevent those guns, consistent with the Second Amendment, from 
falling into the hands of individuals who would do us harm? It seems to 
me to be a reasonable thing that we can do as Americans.
  It also seems important that we would find a way 50 years after the 
passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to stop trying to prevent 
Americans from exercising their sacred franchise and participating in 
American democracy.
  Yet, something happened in the aftermath of 2008, a real interesting 
moment in November of that year, that seemed to have shocked a whole 
lot of people across this country. As a result, 2 years later, when 
there was a midterm election, subsequent to that, there was an outbreak 
with this concern of voter fraud, fabricated because no one can point 
to any evidence of an epidemic of voter fraud.
  Not a scintilla of evidence has been presented anywhere in this 
country that we have got a problem that needs to be addressed; but we 
have had all of these voter suppression laws enacted that are 
consistent with the ghosts of the Confederacy and what those folks 
stood for who were waving the Confederate battle flag in opposition to 
the changes of the fifties and sixties.
  What shocks me is that even the Supreme Court has gotten into the act 
by decimating the section 5 preclearance through claiming that section 
4 is outdated, and this House refuses to act on fixing the Voting 
Rights Act.
  I would argue that--again, consistent with our democracy and the 
spirit of coming together--that, perhaps, that is one of the things we 
can address so that we can take down, on the one hand, the divisive 
symbol of hatred--the Confederate battle flag--from here in this 
Capitol and in whatever form it hangs all across America so that we can 
lift up policies that make Americans safer, policies that are 
consistent with our values and that everyone--White, Black, Latino, 
Asian, Democrats, and Republicans--should be able to rally around.
  I am thankful for Congresswoman Kelly's and Congressman Payne's 
leadership--this wonderful tandem, R. Kelly and D. Payne, who are 
tremendous advocates here in the Congress--and for their giving me this 
opportunity to share these thoughts.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congressman Jeffries, for reminding 
us about the Voting Rights Act. Again, thank you for everything you did 
last week in this Congress. It was so commendable.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), who 
gave a passionate speech on the floor last week about the flag.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I am honored to be with the team of Kelly and 
Payne tonight. You do outstanding work, and you also provide an 
opportunity for other Members to have an opportunity to call to the 
attention of our constituents some of the concerns that we have to 
address in Congress. I will always be grateful for the wonderful work 
that you do in Congress.
  I am also very grateful and thankful to the many persons who worked 
to bring down the Confederate battle flag in South Carolina. It was not 
easy. There are many who said they never thought they would see it 
happen, but it did, and it happened because of a willingness to forgive 
and an understanding that we had an opportunity to do something 
meaningful for a good many people across the length and breadth of this 
country who saw the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of segregation, 
a symbol of racism and bigotry, a symbol of slavery. Not all did, but 
it was painful for a good many who did see it this way, many who 
suffered the indignation and humiliation of segregation, who suffered 
knowing that their bloodline had suffered slavery.
  So I am here tonight to thank those who worked so hard to get this 
done. It was not easy, and I want to thank you for what you did. But I 
also know that there are a good many people now who would like to see 
us go back to normal. They are ready to get back to the normal things 
that we have in this great country of ours, the richest country in the 
world. For them, normal is a very pleasant thing. Normal means new 
homes. Normal means greater opportunities.
  But let's talk about normal for some others in this country because 
normal is not always the same for everyone. Normal for the month of 
June 2015 unemployment: normal for Whites was 4.6 percent, that is the 
unemployment rate. That is normal for Whites. Normal for Latinos was 
6.6 percent, and normal for Blacks was 9.5 percent.
  Now, I have already heard the arguments about how President Obama 
ought to resolve this; this is all his fault. Not so, my friends. If 
you look back through the vista of time, you will find that 
unemployment for African Americans is usually about twice the 
unemployment rate for White Americans. This is not something new to 
President Obama. This is not something that started in 2008 when he was 
elected or when he was sworn in in 2009. This is not something that is 
new to us, those of us who know and see the pain and suffering that 
results from a lack of employment.
  We understand that the flag coming down was a great moment for us 
symbolically. It was symbolism. Now, the

[[Page H5114]]

substance is what we ultimately have to deal with, and the substance is 
the normal life that people lead under conditions that are abnormal for 
many others in this country.
  Let's look at normal as it relates to lending for businesses. 
Minority businessowners in 2012--this is the latest information that I 
have from the Federal Reserve--paid interest rates that were 32 percent 
higher than what Whites paid--32 percent higher. That is normal.
  Some people don't want to go back to this normal state of affairs. 
They see the flag coming down as an indication that we need to move on 
in other substantive areas. Lending, mortgage lending is an important 
area. Normal for African Americans meant that in 2013 only 4.8 percent 
of loans made to buy homes were made to Blacks, when Blacks comprise 
13.2 percent of the total population. Normal for Latinos meant that in 
2013 only 7.3 percent of the loans made to buy homes were made to 
Latinos, Hispanics, when they make up 17.15 percent of the total 
population. That is normal.
  Normal in 2013 meant the conventional mortgage loan denial rate was, 
and this is according to CNN, 10.4 percent for Whites, 13.3 percent for 
Asians, 21.9 percent for Hispanics, and 27.6 percent for African 
Americans. There are a good many people who don't live normal lives in 
this normal climate that we want to get back to--we, in a generic 
sense.
  I, not the personal pronoun for me, I don't want to get back to this. 
I want to see us move on with substantive change. I appreciate what was 
done in bringing down the flag. I celebrate its coming down, but it is 
time for us to initiate greater action in areas where we can integrate 
the money. I am an integrationist. I think we ought to integrate every 
aspect of American society, including the money.
  Let's talk about normal. Normal means that Black applicants are 2.1 
times more likely to be denied loans by mortgage lenders than non-
Hispanic Whites. That is normal. For Hispanics, it means that they are 
1.7 times more likely to be denied loans. That is normal. For Asians, 
1.2 times more likely.
  So I am saying to us that we have got to create a new normal. It is 
time for us, those of us who sit on committees of jurisdiction, to use 
our influence on these committees of jurisdiction to bring about the 
substantive change that lowering the flag and placing it in its place 
of honor, proper place where it should be, lowering that Confederate 
flag. That means that we must do that, but do it in such a way that we 
acknowledge that there is more work to be done, and we can do it on our 
committees of jurisdiction.
  So, given that I serve on the Committee on Financial Services, I will 
be calling to the attention of the committee the need to investigate 
the mortgage lending culture in banks. We need to understand why it is 
that African Americans and Latinos who are equally as qualified as 
Whites can go into a bank and not get a loan when a White can. We have 
got to find out why. I know that there are many people who are 
uncomfortable with the language of Black and White and Brown, but that 
is the language we have to use to communicate clearly a message of what 
is taking place.
  So on my committee, I am going to push for an investigation of banks. 
We need to know why banks consistently do this. Not all banks, but we 
need to know why those who do it are doing it.
  The way you do this is to test, to send people out who are equally 
qualified of different ethnicities and acquire the empirical evidence. 
In every instance--maybe with a few exceptions, but in every instance, 
in a general sense, we find that Blacks and Browns who are equally as 
qualified as Whites do not receive their loans.

  I encourage all of my colleagues to use your committees of 
jurisdiction to create a new state of normalcy for those who have been 
suffering continuously.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you so much, Congressman Green, for your 
words, your passion, and your call to action.
  I would like to thank all of my colleagues for participating tonight. 
Symbols of the Confederacy have been an inescapable and often haunting 
part of life in many Southern States. Every day the Confederate flag is 
flown proudly in front yards, worn on T-shirts, and you will find them 
on pickup trucks, and that is the right that folks have.
  Many argue this is a symbol of Southern history, tradition, and 
honor. I would argue against the merits of that. After all, what are we 
proudly honoring and looking upon nostalgically? The Confederate flag 
represents a dark time in our Nation's history, full of pain, 
suffering, and loss.
  Why do we allow the mascot of terrorist groups to fly high on the 
government grounds? Would we permit ISIS the luxury of putting their 
symbols on our Federal grounds? In modern society, people have made a 
decision to eradicate materials that do not represent our country's 
core values: the value of inclusion, the value of nondiscrimination, 
and the value that our Nation can be the beacon of hope for everyone 
regardless of the color of their skin.
  The institution of slavery destroyed families, killed millions, and 
formed the beginning of a systemic inequality faced by African 
Americans today. That is what the Confederacy sought to preserve when 
it seceded from our great Nation. Every time a Confederate flag flies, 
whether it is the intent of the owner or not, that is what is being 
celebrated.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to take down the flag and we also need to have a 
serious conversation about gun violence. On behalf of Congressman Payne 
and me, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my 
colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus, to discuss tonight's CBC 
Special Order Hour: ``The Confederate Battle Flag: Why Symbols 
Matter.'' I stand here today fully acknowledging that the eradication 
of this hurtful flag from state and federal grounds is only one step in 
fully addressing race relations in this country; but, just as so many 
of my CBC colleagues have stood on this very floor to exclaim that 
``Black Lives Matter,'' so too do symbols. Symbols of hatred, 
institutionalized racism and white supremacy, they matter. Symbols like 
the flags of Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia, embraced by Dylann 
Roof, the terrorist responsible for the unspeakable events at Emmanuel 
AME Church in Charleston last month, Mr. Speaker, they matter.
  Last week, the South Carolina legislature voted overwhelmingly in 
favor of removing--once and for all--the confederate battle flag from 
their Capitol grounds. I applaud the state of South Carolina for this 
historic gesture and for the outstanding leadership necessary to ensure 
that this flag comes down in the aftermath of the ``Emmanuel Nine'' 
tragedy. I implore other southern states that still fly the battle flag 
on state grounds to follow suit and have the flag removed. As a Member 
of Congress, I pledge my support to any legislation that completely 
eradicates this symbol from all federal lands.
  To understand why the confederate battle flag has been offensive to 
millions of Americans for so many years requires a proper framing of 
American History. The version of the confederate battle flag that most 
people are familiar with today was first used by the Army of Tennessee 
during the Civil War. Shortly thereafter, it became widely known as the 
symbol of the Confederacy--eleven states who wished to secede from the 
Union over the right to own slaves. For the many Americans who deny a 
basic historical fact by refusing to believe that slavery was a central 
point of conflict in the Civil War, I quote directly from the 
declaration of secession from my home state of Texas:
  ``We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various 
States, and of the confederacy itself were established exclusively by 
the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African 
race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully 
held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that 
condition only could their existence in this country be rendered 
beneficial or tolerable.''
  Similarly, overt references to slavery as a motivation to secede from 
the Union are also present in the declarations of secession of South 
Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi.
  Repeatedly, throughout the 20th century, the confederate battle flag 
flew as a symbol of direct defiance to advancements in civil rights. 
The flag was first displayed at the South Carolina state Capitol in 
1938 after angry Members of Congress defeated a bill that would have 
made lynching a federal crime.
  In the 1940s, the flag became the symbol of the Dixiecrats, the 
segregationist political faction birthed out of its firm stance against 
the civil rights agenda of the national Democratic party of the time. 
Members of the Dixiecrats were faithfully devoted to maintaining the 
segregation of the Jim Crow South, many of

[[Page H5115]]

whom stood on this very House floor decades ago, extolling the virtues 
of an American society that subjugated its black citizens.
  In 1962, the flag was raised to the dome of the South Carolina state 
Capitol after President Kennedy called on Congress to end poll taxes 
and literacy tests for voting, and the Supreme Court declared 
segregation in public transportation unconstitutional. The raising of 
the confederate battle flag flew as a symbol of resistance in South 
Carolina to two landmark achievements of progress that our country 
relied on to move forward in its quest for racial equality.
  While the confederate battle flag may represent ``Southern Heritage'' 
to some, to millions of other Americans it represents an opposition to 
the racial equality we still fight for today. This flag is a symbol of 
the painful history that this country has worked hard to overcome; and 
in order to continue moving forward, it is a symbol that we must 
finally put behind us.

                          ____________________