As law officials removed the Confederate flag from the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, President Obama praised the event personally on Twitter.
“South Carolina taking down the confederate flag – a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future,” he wrote.
The flag was removed in a short ceremony this morning as some in the crowd shouted U-S-A! U-S-A! and sang “Na na na na, hey hey-hey, goodbye!”
White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett also weighed in on Twitter.
“A historic day for #SouthCarolina and the #UnitedStates as we officially #TakeItDown,” she wrote, citing Obama’s note.
Obama discussed his feelings about the flag at lengthy during a eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine victims of a racist shooting in a Charleston church.
“For too long, we were blind to the pain that the Confederate flag stirred in too many of our citizens,” he said, insisting that Americans had to acknowledge that it represented not only ancestral pride but “systemic oppression and racial subjugation.”
“Removing the flag from this state’s capitol would not be an act of political correctness; it would not be an insult to the valor of Confederate soldiers. It would simply be an acknowledgment that the cause for which they fought — the cause of slavery — was wrong,” he added, before concluding, “By taking down that flag, we express God’s grace.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.