(theGrio) President Obama — or Reverend President — has captured America’s attention on racial inequality. He must make the issue his central theme for his remaining time in office.
At the eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney — the state senator who was among the nine killed by Dylann Roof at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. — the president bore the weight of black folks on his shoulders when he articulated the history of slavery and the problem of racism we face in everyday life. His words were a call to action, as he seemed to realize that removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse — without addressing the systemic racism that remains once the flag is gone — risked becoming a squandered opportunity.
Showing posts with label Clementa Pinckney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clementa Pinckney. Show all posts
July 3, 2015
Reverend president? Obama, grace and legacy come together in Charleston
(theGrio) Was the President’s eulogy at Rev. Clementa Pinckney’s homegoing service an example of a truly liberated Obama who is now nearing the end of his term? Or did his performance reflect the events unfolding in this country and Obama stepping up?
Ultimately, it was a little bit of both, not to mention a man who is certainly thinking about his place in the world and what his legacy will mean to the nation.
On Friday afternoon at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina, President Obama paid tribute to Rev. Pinckney, a state senator and one of nine black people gunned down by white supremacist Dylann Roof at Emanuel AME Church.
With victories for Obamacare, the Fair Housing Act and marriage equality in the U.S. Supreme Court, it was a tremendous week for the commander in chief. And yet, in the midst of tragedy and soul searching — forced to grapple with its centuries’ old curse of slavery and a virulent symbol of racial oppression in the form of the Confederate flag — South Carolina may have had its finest hour when President Obama honored the fallen Rev. Pinckney.
Ultimately, it was a little bit of both, not to mention a man who is certainly thinking about his place in the world and what his legacy will mean to the nation.
On Friday afternoon at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina, President Obama paid tribute to Rev. Pinckney, a state senator and one of nine black people gunned down by white supremacist Dylann Roof at Emanuel AME Church.
With victories for Obamacare, the Fair Housing Act and marriage equality in the U.S. Supreme Court, it was a tremendous week for the commander in chief. And yet, in the midst of tragedy and soul searching — forced to grapple with its centuries’ old curse of slavery and a virulent symbol of racial oppression in the form of the Confederate flag — South Carolina may have had its finest hour when President Obama honored the fallen Rev. Pinckney.
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