so full of life and so full of kindness people who ran the race who persevere. people of great faith. to the families of the fallen the nation shares in your grief. a pain cut that much deeper because it happened in a church. the church is and always has been the center of african-american life. [applause] >> a place to call their own in a too often hostile world, a sanctuary for so many hardships. over the the course of

centuries, black churches served as hush harbors where slaves could worship in safety. houses where their free descent presidents could gather and shout hallelujah. bunkers for the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement. they've been and continue to be community centers where we organize for jobs and justice. places of scholarship and network. places where children are loved and fed and kept out of harm areas way and told that they're beautiful and smart and told that they

matter. a church burned to the ground because its founders sought to fight against slavery only to rise up again, a phoenix from these ashes. [applause] >> laws banning all black church gathering, services held here anyway in defiance of unjust laws.

the movement to dismantle jim crow martin luther king jr., preached from its pulpits. a sacred place, this church. not just for blacks or americans but for all americans who believe in liberty and justice for all. that's what the church meant. [applause]

>> we do not know whether the killer of the reverend and eight others knew all of this history. but he surely sensed the meaning of his violent

act. an act he presumed would deepen divisions that traced back to our nation's original sin. oh but god works in mistierous ways. [crowd cheering] [applause] god has different ideas. blinded by hate, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounded by the reverend and that bible study group. the light of love that's shone

as they open the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. the alleged killer could never have anticipated the way the families would respond when they saw him in court in the midst of unspeakable grief and forgiveness. he could not imagine that. [applause] [crowd cheering]

>> blinded by hatred. he failed to comprehend what the reverend so well understood. the power of god's grace. [crowd cheering] [applause] this whole week i've been reflecting on this idea of grace. the grace of the families who lost loved

ones. amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. i once was lost. but now i'm found. was blind but now i see. [crowd cheering] [applause] or their spirit. there are banners up that say the wrong church, wrong people, wrong day. and

>> grace is not merited. it's not something we deserve. rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of god. [applause] [crowd cheering] >> as man invested in the salvation of sinners and the giving of blessings, grace. as a nation out of this terrible tragedy, god has visited grace upon us. for he has allowed us to see where we've been blind. he's given us the chance where we've been lost to fiebd our best self-s.

-- find our best selves. we may not have earned it but we got it all the same. he gave it to us anyway. he's once more given us grace. but it is up to us now to receive it. for too long we were blind to the pain that the confederate flag stirred in too many of our citizens. [applause] >> it's true a flag did not cause these murders. but as people from all walks of

life republicans and democrats, now acknowledge, including governor haley whose recent eloquents remarks on the subject, as we all have to acknowledge, the flag has always represented more than just ancestral pride. for many black and white, that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression and racial divide.

we see that now. removing the flag from this state's capitol would not be an act of political correctness or 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. [applause] [crowd cheering] >> the imposition of jim crow after the civil war, the resistance to civil rights for all people was wrong.

it would be one step in an honest accounting of america's history. a modest but meaningful balm for so many unhealed wounds if the

or attend broken down schools or grow up without prospects for a job or career. perhaps it causes us to examine what we're doing to cause some of our children to

so that we search our hearts when we consider laws to make it harder for some of our fellow citizens to vote.

for too long. for too long we've been blind to the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation. sporaticly, our eyes are open. when eight of our brothers and sisters are cut down in a church basement. 12 in a movie theater. but i hope we all see the 30 precious lives cut short by gun violence in this country every single day. the countless more whose lives are forever changed. the survivors crippled.

the children traumatized and fearful every day as they walk to school. the husband who will never feel his wife's warm touch. the entire communities whose grief overflows every time they have to watch what happened to them happen to some other place. the vast majority of americans, the majority of gun owners want to do something about this. we see that now. [applause] [crowd cheering] >> and i'm convinced that by acknowledging the pain and loss of others even as we

respect we don't everybody grace. we're all sinners and we don't deserve it. but god gives it to us anyway. and we choose how to receive it. it's our decision how to honor it. none of us can or should expect a transformation in race relations overnight. every time something like this happens someone says we have to have a conversation about race. we talk a lot about race. there's no shortcut.

we don't need more talk. [applause] [applause]. >> none of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures are prevent every tragedy. it will not. people of good will will continue to debate the merits of various policies. as our democracy requires. there's a big raucus place america is. and there are good people on both sides of these debates. whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. it would be a betrayal of everything the reverend pinkney stood for i believe. if we allow ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence

again. once the tv cameras move on and eulogies have been delivered, to go back to business as usual, that's what we so often do. to settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change, that's how we lose our way again. it would be a reputation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits those who disagree with us are not merely wrong but bad. where we shout instead of listen. where we barricade ourselves

behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism. the reverend pinkney said across the south we have a deep appreciation of history. we haven't always had a deep appreciation of each other's history. [applause] [crowd cheering] >> it's true for america. justice grows out of recognition. of ourselves and each other. that my liberty depends on you being free too.

there must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. how to break the cycle. a roadway toward a better world. he knew that the path of grace involves an open mind. but more importantly an open heart. owe that's what i felt this week, an open heart. that more than any particular policy or analysis is what's called upon right now i think. it's what a friend of mine the writer marilyn robinson calls that reservoir of goodness

beyond and of another kind. if we can find that grace, anything is possible. amazing grace. ♪♪ amazing grace ♪♪ [applause] [crowd cheering] ♪♪ how sweet the sound

♪♪ ♪♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪♪ ♪♪ i once was lost ♪♪ but now i'm found ♪♪ he found that grace.

cynthia heard found that grace. suzie and ethel found that grace. de-payne found that grace. sanders found that grace. daniel found that grace. towanda found that grace. myra thompson found that grace. through the example of their lives. they've now passed it on to us. may we find ourselves worthy of that precious and extraordinary gift. as long as our lives endure. may grace now lead them home. may god continue to shed his grace on the united states of america. [applause] [crowd cheering]

>> we ask that the reverend come with the prayer consulate and then words by islevy funeral home to give us direction and then we'll be on our way. we want to thank you, mr. president, for the powerful message. it was all right, the powerful

message. let the church say amen. >> amen. let us bow our heads in prayer. oh, when i come to the end of my journey carrying the staff and the cross of re-demption, he'll understand and say well done. bless and comfort us as we prepare to leave this place. we mourn today the untimely death of the reverend but we've also celebrated his spirit-filled life of work and service. the grievous passing but because he was and is your child he resides in your eternal presence where there is