democracynow.org 06/26/15 06/26/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from charleston, south carolina, this is democracy now! >> to me it is the 9/11 of the black church. it impacts all of us. and we pastors are profoundly affected so we couldn't not come. amy: we are broadcasting from outside the emanuel ame church mother emanuel, where last wednesday nine people were gunned down in the basement as they attended bible study.

on the ame church's pastor wednesday, 41-year-old reverend clementa pinckney, also a state senator, lay in state at the capitol, one of the very few african americans in history to do so. on thursday, he was brought to his hometown church and then here to emanuel ame, mother emanuel, where again thousands lined up around the block to see him. to pay the last respects. >> it was striking how they put a microphone in one hand and a pair of his glasses and had him dressed in his religious garb. it was really quiet. heavy. obviously, very emotional. i am still trying to process what i just saw. amy: we'll speak with local activists, including brett bursey, he calls himself the

oldest living confederate prisoner of war. he burned the confederate flag in 1969. and muhiyidin d'baha, an organizer with black lives matter charleston. we'll also look at the impact of the supreme court's aca decision on south carolina with loreen myerson, whose group sign up hundreds for the affordable care act. and we'll speak with kevin alexander gray, a south carolina civil rights activist and community organizer. >> we want to have a conversation about race in this country in the foundation of the white supremacy and racism, it starts in south carolina and the ideology of white supremacy that permeates our nation today with the southerners nation of american politics. amy: all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road in charleston, south carolina. the supreme court has upheld a key provision of the affordable care act, preserving the health insurance coverage of millions of people and handing president obama a major victory. on thursday, the court ruled 6 to 3 that obamacare recipients can obtain tax subsidies for health insurance in states that use federal exchanges. right-wing plaintiffs had argued the law's wording excluded some 7.5 million people in 34 states who get their insurance through federal exchanges after their states declined to run exchanges of their own. but writing for the majority chief justice john roberts said -- "congress passed the affordable care act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them." if the government had lost millions of people would have been left without the subsidies needed to help pay for private

health insurance. at the white house, president obama celebrated the ruling. >> the affordable care act is here to stay. this morning, the court upheld a critical part of this law, the part that has made it easier for americans to afford health insurance regardless of where you live. if the partisan challenge to this law had succeeded, millions of americans would have had thousands of dollars worth of tax credits taken from them. for many, insurance would have become unaffordable again. many would have become uninsured again. ultimately, everyone's premiums could have gone up. america would have gone backwards. and that is not what we do. that is not what america does. we move forward. so today is a victory for hard-working americans all across this country whose lives will continue to become more secure in a changing economy because of this law. amy: in a dissent from the

bench, justice antonin scalia denounced the majority opinion as absurd, adding -- "we really should start calling this law scotus-care." meanwhile, outside the supreme court, obamacare recipients who will get to keep their insurance gathered to celebrate. >> we are thankful today that the court upheld this and realizedhat affordable care is not just for, i don't know, it is for everybody and it should be. it would have impacted over 6 million people had they not agreed to this. but now we don't have to worry about this anymore. amy: despite obamacare's expansion of healthcare to millions of people, some 35 million americans remain without insurance under the patchwork u.s. system. in another decision, the supreme court ruled in favor of allowing disparate impact discrimination lawsuits under the fair housing act. the decision means housing bias lawsuits can proceed in cases

where discrimination wasn't intentional, but ended up being the result. a disparate impact would apply to cases such as setting income standards that would inevitably disadvantage a racial group. the american civil liberties union welcomed the decision, saying -- "this ruling recognizes the stark reality that housing discrimination, regardless of intent, persists for many americans." here in south carolina, the first two funerals for last week's church massacre victims began on thursday in a series of services that will continue today and over the weekend. loved ones remembered sharonda coleman-singleton, a 45-year-old mother of three, reverend, and high school track coach. as well as ethel lance, a 70-year-old grandmother who had worked at emanuel ame for more than three decades. the funeral for the emanuel ame church's pastor, the reverend clementa pinckney, also a state senator, will be held today. president obama will deliver the eulogy.

we'll have more from south carolina after headlines. a predominantly black church has been targeted with arson in charlotte, north carolina. part of the briar creek baptist church burned down after it was deliberately torched on wednesday. investigators are looking into the blaze as a possible hate crime. the standoff between greece and european creditors continues with a deal still out of reach. talks have been extended to the weekend after both sides failed to reach an agreement on thursday. creditors want greece to accept an austerity package in exchange for news loan that would help it avoid a default. greek prime minister alexis tsipras said he's confident the impasse can be resolved. >> i think european history is full of disagreements negotiations, and then compromises. so after the conference of greek proposals, i'm confident we will

reach a compromise that will help the eurozone and greece to overcome the crisis. amy: a kansas judge has blocked a law that made the state the first in the country to ban a common procedure used during second-trimester abortions. based on model legislation from the anti-choice national right to life committee, the measure banned doctors from using instruments to remove a fetus in pieces. it allowed exceptions only to save a woman's life or prevent irreversible damage to a major bodily function. on thursday, a shawnee county district court judge ruled the measure would unfairly burden women seeking abortions. a group behind so-called gay to straight conversation therapy -- conversion therapy has been found guilty of consumer fraud in a landmark ruling. a new jersey jury says jews offering new alternatives for healing, jonah, and life coach alan downing "engaged in unconscionable commercial practices." the group must now refund former clients thousands of dollars in fees.

it's the first time a u.s. court has ruled on the fraudulence of lgbt conversion. the southern poverty law center says the verdict is "a momentous event in the history of the lgbt rights movement." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in charleston, south carolina, in front of the emanuel ame church, mother emanuel, where on nine people june 17, were gunned down in the basement as they attended bible study. we are on calhoun street, named for one of the most prominent proslavery figures in history the late senator and vice , president john calhoun, who argued slavery was a positive good rather than a necessary evil. on thursday, people gathered to attend the first two funerals in a series of services that will continue today and over the

weekend. loved ones remembered sharonda coleman-singleton, a 45-year-old mother of three, reverend, and high school track coach. and ethel lance, a 70-year-old grandmother who had worked at emanuel ame for more than three decades. south carolina governor nikki haley attended the services along with jesse jackson and al sharpton. this is ethel lance's granddaughter and grandson. >> i want everybody to know that my grandmother is a wonderful wonderful person -- precious woman. and we don't have no hate for nobody because our power love is stronger than ever. >> ethel. e-t-h-e-l. e-everybody in this room.

t -- tough love. h - her. everybody in this room. e - equality. she believe in that. l -love. that is ethel. that is everybody in this room. [applause] amy: on wednesday, thousands filed past the body of the emanuel ame church's pastor 41-year-old reverend clementa pinckney, also a state senator as he lay in state at the capitol, the first -- few african-americans to do so. his body had to be brought past the confederate flag at the state capitol, the symbol embraced by the alleged shooter dylann roof. on thursday, reverend pinckney's body was also taken to ridgeland to his hometown church and then to mother emanuel right here in charleston where thousands lined up around the block to see him.

among them was activist, austin mccoy. he drove to charleston from ann arbor, michigan, and described what it was like inside the church. >> i walked through and saw his body. yeah, it was striking how they put a microphone in one hand or his microphone and a pair of his glasses and had him dressed in his religious garb. it was really quiet heavy. obviously, very emotional. i mean, i'm still china process what i just saw. amy: reverend pinckney's funeral will be held today at the college of charleston, not far from where we are now, with president obama offering the eulogy and first lady michelle obama, vice president biden, members of congress and democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton in attendance. this is reverend mckinley washington, jr., speaking at reverend pinckney's wake thursday. >> whoever thought a little

black boy would bring the president of the united states of america and the vice president of the united states america -- [applause] paid the price for you and for me. and because of that price [applause] -- changed south carolina. amy: outside reverend pinckney's wake, the line wrapped around the block. the wake was scheduled to end at 8:00 p.m., but it was an hour later when police finally closed off the barricades.

outside the church, we spoke to some of people who came to mother emanuel to pay their last respects. >> rebecca, from atlanta georgia. sharonda coleman singleton was our sorority sister. we're here to honor her. we were here for her funeral services today. and just to show support to the people of charleston. she was a mother, coach, a minister, a woman of god and a woman of service. and she took in all people, all kinds of folks. and she would minister to them not only about the gospel, just about life. she was just a beautiful pitiful person. she instilled that also and her children. we're here to uplift her and support her. looks i am a pastor in d.c. at the fraser baptist church. this is my wife marie.

basically, just traumatized -- amy: you flew down? >> we drove down. we just got off the road from d.c. we feel like this is a terrible moment in history we wanted to be a part of it and pay our respects, be in prayer and solidarity with all of the folk down here. to me, it is the 9/11 of the black church. it impacts all of us. we pastors are profoundly affected so we couldn't not come. we had to be here. >> we are shaken and trying to come to grips with it. but trying to be just like the parishioners here saying, love trumps all. >> we are snatching victory out of this. think about it, he wanted civil war, social consul gratian, a

rallying point for community. hopefully, he can see the news and catch glances of what is going on because of his actions. it is evil inverted. the way this has turned out. >> ♪ praise the lord, hallelujah ♪ >> my name is eric snyder. i have lived here from five years from new york city. amy: you are starting a petition? >> i am. i put it on moveon.org yesterday. it is to rename calhoun street to reverend clementa pinckney street. the indignity that our church has suffered so much as this one, the history of charleston has to have his address john c calhoun. amy: explain the significance. >> he is one of the most important american figures in

support of white supremacy. the quotes he has are just beyond understanding in america 2015, why anyone would honor a man like that. and i do know today i read online that some congressman are starting to look at the john c calhoun memorials in the capitol rotunda a something that needs to be discussed. amy: john c calhoun, the former u.s. vice president and u.s. senator, who said slavery is good. >> yes. he has a lot of quotes defending slavery and also he has quotes that basically say that this is a battle between the white race and the black race. 2015, that is not a man of honor. >> ♪ oh, my lord ♪ >> i am a pastor in the african

and methodist episcopal church in gains for, florida. my hope is to get into the church today. i have been to two of the funerals today. my thoughts are still a little bit discombobulated. i'm hurting, in pain just like everybody else. and i pray that out of this tragic, tragic event, that love will still abide. that is been the whole message the whole time, that love overpowers and is more powerful than hate. i hope that just continues to happen as we go through these next days and weeks and months as we mourn the loss of nine beautiful souls. >> ♪ we are soldiers in the army ♪

amy: as the funerals take lace there is also the controversy over the confederate flag. your thoughts on that? >> take them down. put them in their proper place in order that healing and love may continue to flow, floors and abide. amy: just some of the people who came here to mother emanuel much of the emanuel ame church, to pay their respects on thursday. and we come back from break, as we await the funeral, the obamas will be here, joe biden, and many tens of -- many thousands of others, just around the corner at college of charleston.

we will be back in a moment with guests here in front of the church. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: we are here in charleston south carolina, right in front of mother emanuel. that is the scene of the crime more than a week ago when the alleged shooter dylann roof opened fire on a bible study class that he himself had attended, slaughtering nine people. the funerals are underway. today's funeral is taking place at td arena at college of charleston. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

until yesterday, the president of college of charleston, glenn mcconnell, had not weighed in on the growing controversy over the confederate flag. but he is a former south carolina senator who brokered the legislative compromise in 2000 that saw the confederate flag moved from atop the statehouse dome to its current location next to the confederate soldier monument. mcconnell is a civil war re-enactor who once owned a confederate souvenir shop in north charleston. on thursday, he broke his silence, saying -- "i support governor haley's call to remove the confederate soldier's flag from state house grounds as a visible statement of courtesy and good will to all those who may be offended by it. at the same time, i also urge all public officials and activists who are focusing on this issue to come together, the way the good people of charleston joined hands following the terrible tragedy

we suffered, and agree not to transfer the fight to other physical vestiges and memorials of our state's past. in a spirit of good will and mutual respect, let us all agree that the monuments, cemeteries historic street and building names shall be preserved and protected. let us all pledge to respect each other and stand together in firm opposition to any efforts to sanitize, rewrite or bulldoze our history." said the president of the college of charleston who is a civil rights reenactor, meaning he puts on a confederate uniform, reenacting the civil war. for more, we're joined by cap and alexander gray -- for more we are joined by kevin alexander gray a civil rights activist and , community organizer based in columbia, south carolina. he edited the book, "killing trayvons: an anthology of american violence" and is the author of, "waiting for lightning to strike - the fundamentals of black politics." start off with the sentiment that is expressed via the

president of the place right now for the funeral for reverend pinckney or were president obama will be delivering the eulogy. >> i'm glad people are expressing condolences and talking about how much of an outrage the slaughter of these souls has been for the state. at the is such a hypocrite. he has defended that flag and defended his history throughout his career. he has made money on that flag. he has led the fight to expand slate tourism by raising money for the confederate submarine. what he is afraid of is the foundation of this state, the history of the state is so predicated on fighting for slavery, from calhoun street we're sitting on, named after john c calhoun, to when you come through -- you drive down here you cross into calhoun county. there are numerous streets in the state named after calhoun.

amy: extremely proslavery -- >> he is the father of the ordinance of nullification. in the words we often hear dr. king talked about, the rights of the southern states to withdraw from the union, this whole idea of states rights, the foundation for the republican party in this country. yeah, we need to revisit history. amy: interestingly, the statue of calhoun is a must as high as this church down the street. >> it was built high to keep the free slaves from turning it down. amy: there is a petition kevin we met a man online and just played his comments, to change the name of calhoun street to reverend pinckney street. >> i would not be a poster that, but we should not stop there. we ought to look at who we name all of our institutions after. in the state capitol, the department education

headquarters stand after john rutledge, the brother of our delegate to the signing of the declaration of independence that forced the anti-slavery clause to be taken out of the declaration that codified slavery. so slavery is so deeply embedded in the history of this state, so many names of streets and symbols and monuments are named after confederate heroes, and then even if you talk about that monument in which they are flying the flag at now, the confederate soldiers monument, whose only put there after the turn-of-the-century with the rise of the coulter of the lost cause. a lot of the names of the streets were put there after reconstruction to reclaim power in the state. when black people had no power -- amy: kevin alexander gray, just behind us, the hearse has pulled up in front of mother emanuel, reverend pinckney late in state

yesterday, thousands of people lined up. the hearse i assume will be going over to the college of charleston. the comments of the president, the president of college of charleston says, don't wreck the monument. but someone probably told him not to say anything earlier because he is such a lightning rod in a big defender of the flag and of southern culture. the thing is, they just can't wrap their brains around the fact that the culture is based on support of slavery in the expansion of slavery and that is our legacy. they believe the civil war was some noble fight and their parents went off to fight a noble war when they fought a war that was -- their ancestors were wrong. amy: in a moment, we're going to be joined by reverend al sharpton who gave one of the eulogies yesterday at one of the first funerals.

we will also hear from muhiyidin d'baha, who was very active on the issue of the police in north charleston when walter scott was gunned down. interestingly, officer mike slagle, charged with murder, is in the charleston jail alongside dylann roof. final comments, kevin alexander gray? >> i think it is about where we move forward. we just can't talk about the flag and bearing these souls. we have to deal with structural racism and white supremacy all across america. amy: kevin alexander gray, thank you for step we turn now to reverend al sharpton who is standing here just a few minutes ago before the broadcast began as i talked to him about what has taken place in south carolina. the heart of the confederacy. reverend sharpton, your comment

on the sacred day of one of the funerals? >> i think this is a day that reminds us, despite all that we have seen, that we still have raw, violent racism in this country. terrorism. and the last time i saw reverend pinckney, not two months ago, in charleston around the case of scott where i come down, where our chapter had a prayer vigil at the scene -- walter scott was killed by police. reverend pinckney did the prayer. i came back two months later to stand last thursday, that he was killed in the sacred church. as i said at the funeral yesterday of sharonda simpson

taking the flag down without changing the policies is not enough. yes, we want the confederate flag down. it should never have been up. but now governor haley in them that were for the flag or against the flag, and i said to her that she only knew me from looking out the window protesting. she said, oh, i would have hoped to. we don't want a hug. we want to deal with voting rights, police reform. they have still not gone to the court on the scott case. they're still not medicaid. the reality is, the climate this young terrorist felt justified in is still among us. amy: what about the fact fbi director james comey came out right away and said that this was not terrorism? >> if this is not terrorism then what is terrorism? to go into church and sit in our and wait to shoot multiple

people including an elected official is terrorism by any definition. amy: do you think governor haley could have taken down the flag on her own? >> i think governor haley could have and should have taken a down on her own. and if there was some legal statutes, she should have removed it and had them challenge to let them be the guilty party. amy: your comments on the republican governor of alabama who took it down? >> i think it was good, but it was about 150 years too late. my mother was born and buried in alabama. somebody should have told them they lost the civil war, at least that part of it. the flag is not only a flag of racism and lynching and slavery it is a flag of treason. these are people that challenged the government of the united states and try to overthrow a blink and's government. amy: what do you say to those who say, not hate? >> it is a heritage of slavery

and lynching and a heritage of we are less than human. they want to be proud of that heritage? fine, but you don't put it up on the public square with taxpayers funded and subsidize it. any code you think it is possible that dylann shot the roof off the confederacy? >> i think it is possible dylann shot the roof off the confederacy. what i don't want to see is the confederates get away with just changing the curtains in the window, rather than the structure of the building. amy: reverend sharpton, you're standing in front of mother emanuel, the emanuel ame church, but you are standing on calhoun street. and just down the road is a statue of the former u.s. vice president john calhoun known for his proslavery stance, saying slavery is good. >> these are signs of the

celebratory way that those that advance slavery and lynching, those that advance treason have been treated in the south -- and in the north. in brooklyn, new york, there's a robert e lee street, the general of the confederate army. so we have got to stop romanticizing and trying to justify the name of heritage. people that were out right committing treason and had a quest and in fact, made that request a reality of enslaving people that became american citizens and were brought here to build this country on the backs of slaves. amy: we just talked to a charleston resident who said he started a petition to rename calhoun street here in front of mother emanuel, reverend pinckney street. your thoughts?

>> my thoughts is that would be wonderful. i was celebrate that. nothing would be greater than to change it from calhoun, who advocated confederacy, to reverend pinckney, who advocated liberation. it then we would have to change the policies that are conducted on the street. amy: finally, the black lives matter movement, black lives matter being put on confederate statues. your thoughts? >> i think that is wonderful because i think the confederacy was that black lives don't matter. and i think what is really the most inspiring thing i've seen since reverend pinckney was killed is when i saw young white kids in the deep south holding up signs and saying, "black lives matter." amy: that was reverend sharpton in front of mother emanuel earlier this morning. as we broadcast today, the casket of reverend clementa pinckney has just been brought out by a state police honor

guard. his casket covered with flowers. as they solemnly dissent the stairs -- ascend the stairs, the first floor of the church is called the basement. that is where the bible study took place two wednesdays ago that the accused shooter dylann roof was a part of, and then after an hour, allegedly opened fire killing nine of the parishioners who were at bible study. upstairs is the chapel where reverend pinckney lay in state. the funeral will take place at college of charleston arena, the td arena, because it was believed that so many -- and clearly it is true, because thousands gathered for the hours yesterday to see reverend pinckney to pay last respects yesterday. i believe the arena hold something like 5400 people.

there are many expected who will be outside. brett bursey is with us, director of the south carolina progressive network. he burned the confederate flag in 1969. he calls himself the oldest living confederate prisoner of war. brett bursey's head of the south carolina progressive coalition. welcome to democracy now! your thoughts as just behind us the body of reverend pinckney in the hearse now, as it is taken full around the corner to the college of charleston? >> first let me say, as a good friend of clemente's he came to the state house at 23 or 24 years old. this is a progressive network does a lot of policy work for the black caucus and clementa was part of our sponsors for clean lectures bill and our spokesperson about the corrupting influence of money on politics for several years.

i knew the wife kids. it is been such an impactful thing that i feel a responsibility to clementa and the other people that are dead, to take advantage of the opportunities their sacrifices made to challenge the hypocrisy and the cynicism that fuels the bigotry that will still be there -- still be there if they take the flag down. the governor said, take the flag down. she would not have done that if this hadn't happened. she has little understanding of how negative her polities policies are. we have knocked on doors in south carolina to talk to people about -- that did not get any health-care. when we tell them the governor said they did not wanted, we don't need it, they wanted to know why. we told them, you to call the governor. sheit is disingenuous and of a

critical what we're seeing. amy: and the voting rights? >> nikki is a big champion of photo id bills that would have kept people from voting. we found a dozen people and had successful cases, five cases in the department of justice, to block the bill. they rewrote the bill and washington, d.c., and the court said, you don't need a photo id, come to -- it was tremendous kabuki theater that disenfranchises people. we have the lowest, least competitive elections in the nation. 75% of our legislators are elected with no opposition. the idea that the people that are championing our democracy have shut the process down. we have profound problems. i really do feel some of this energy that is coming from this terrible tragedy is going to help direct some energy toward

solving some of these institutional problems we have. amy: brett bursey can you talk about what you did in 1969? >> well, it is kind of like what i just said. i was raised in the south. i graduated in 1966, segregated high school. i came up to the university of south carolina and got involved with the southern student organizing committee, which was a civil rights group formed when the white people left sncc. i was a stay traveler in 1968, 19 69. the occasion of the flag burning at the university was on the anniversary of the massacre when in 1968 students at state university, which is the schools historic black college, were gunned down by -- three were killed, 29 injured. amy: you're talking orangeburg. expanded quickly. february of -- >> 1968.

amy: right dr. king was assassinated. >> the event where the flag was burned was the first anniversary in 1969 of the orangeburg massacre. i put on in the event, we were going to call it black awareness week. amy: orangeburg is so important. i remember when president obama was first running for president and he went bowling any got a gutter ball and everyone was making fun of him. he's an african-american man bowling is a significant because orangeburg was about a bowling alley, about integrating a bowling alley. and the police without warning opened fire on the students who were fighting for the integration of the alley. >> and no one was ever punished for the killing. including sellers, one of the organizers. he was working with sncc. i think he spent a year in jail. the flag was burned in part because the university was using the flag, the confederate flag at sporting events, a sea of

confederate flags. we marched up to the presidents house demanded they quit doing that, and he said, ok. we felt empowered. we marched to the legislature across the street from the university and that is the first time i realized all 107 legislators were white and her head up in a black legislators in end of reconstruction in the 1890's. we went back to the campus. the flat was on the dome of the time. the flag went up april 12 1961 on the 100th anniversary of the start of the civil war, which was brought to you by people here in charleston, south carolina. we burned the flag. i was arrested five days later for the facing or defiling [indiscernible] amy: so you burned it where? >> on the university of front of the president. amy: you were arrested. >> i was arrested. amy: did you go to jail? >> i went to joe, posted bond, and still awaiting trial.

amy: so you call yourself -- >> partially humorous story i feel i have learned, and being the oldest living confederate prisoner of war. one of the worst things, clearly, ever did in the eyes of a warty's in south carolina -- authorities in south carolina. beat in up in police custody because of that. amy: i want to thank you, brett bursey for joining us. the hearse has just moved on. brett bursey, director of the south carolina progressive network. burned the confederate flag back in 1969. we will be back here in front of the mother emanuel church in charleston, south carolina in a minute. m♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting fro

charleston, south carolina outside the historic emanuel ame church where nine people were gunned down on as they attended june 17 bible study. just minutes ago, state troopers brought reverend clementa pinckney's casket down the steps to a hearse. his funeral is being held just blocks from here at college of charleston with president obama delivering the eulogy. the church shooting suspect dylann roof is now jailed next to officer michael slager, the policeman who shot and killed unarmed african-american walter scott earlier this year in nearby north charleston. to talk about the impact of last week's massacre on black lives matter movement, we're joined right now by muhiyidin d'baha an organizer with black lives matter charleston. it is great to have you with us.

as we are broadcasting, you saw the casket of pastor pinckney thing brought down the stairs. your thoughts today? >> victimization, being terrorized, the impact is always the same. when we are being terrorized as a community to the last 400 years, doesn't matter whether it is condoned by the state or not condoned by the state, the impact on the community is feeling victimized. as i watched that casket go, i wish shaking my head like, when will this end and how will it end? amy: we last talked to you when walter scott was killed. and you talk about what happened then, the actions you are taking then, and how you connected to what has just taken place, the slaughter -- it used to be one time, north charleston and now it is two. >> it is the same impact upon the community, whether it is condoned by the state in a state-sponsored violence and

walter scott's case, or not condoned by the state, the impact is still the same. white supremacy is still ruling and controlling our lives in certain ways that policies practices, and procedures really make up and dictate the way we live our lives and it is enforced by law. it is in force and condoned by law. so even when we get a sense of sitting on the street, the laws, policies practices in this town, the way our schools are organized, it is all controlling , the confinement of our lives in a way that we move. this is just a continuation of the victimization that is been happening for a very long time, dehumanization. amy: your thoughts of officer slater, the officer who killed walter scott, charged with murder and dylann roof in the same jail? it is a new jail, the charleston jail. >> again, the white supremacy is existing within our social structure and has been here for a very long time so the impact

upon the community is always the same. that they're sitting together they have always been together. they come from the same ideology, the same soil. so it is the soil, the nutrients -- the flag is the ideology, the symbols that we are after. amy: i want to ask what you thought about, well, a number of monuments have been what the media calls to faced. i think on the calhoun statue what did it say? it says calhoun and then graffitied "racist." on the monument, the confederate monument in columbia, spray-painted the words "black lives matter. people have said they have defaced these statues. >> it is more bringing it to light what really is -- i think that is what we're trying to do with our movement right now in a way -- our rhetoric, re-examining our history and the white supremacist structures and our history and naming them and calling them what they are so we talk about the flag, we don't

get into agitation of race, we get into talks about abolition and states rights. we talked about the reality of it. this country is founded upon economic capital developed from free and cheap labor. now that that cheap labor is not used because of technological innovation, we have the prison industrial conflict in other ways to subsidize peoples living and housing. the impact on the community has not changed. it is still the same exact story. amy: how do you think what has taken place here, the slaughter that happened just over a week ago, the funerals are underway right now right through the weekend, will affect the black lives matter movement around the country? >> it will ramp it up into another level. such an assassination, which it was, of a leader someone on the ground trying to bring the grassroots energy, trying to bring the agenda of the people in the policy and then to be assassinated, we have to be able to change our rhetoric and change our discourse and actually get more passionate.

we cannot let another genesis -- generation grow up on weiss a permissive. amy: any final words on the sacred day here as we are here the hearse has just given away with reverend pinckney's body, and there are six more victims who will be memorialized the most funerals for over the weekend, leading into next week, two women were remembered yesterday. your final thoughts about your activism and what your plans are, what you want to see happen? >> the discourse has to be uplifted and the ground forces have to become more real. this is not a show. this is not something that just happened. this has been happening to our committee. the impact on our committee has been hundreds of years. we have been terrorized for hundreds of years. our reaction is not anything novel. we've had to pray and say, oh lord, please are lord bless and

protect us. amy: kevin alexander gray, our guest before, when i said we are broadcasting from the heart of the confederacy, he says, no you have it wrong. atlanta is the heart of the confederacy. south carolina is the soul of the confederacy. >> this is true. if we're going to fight this battle, this is the first shots of the civil war that of just been fired. literally, this is a generation that is not one to raise our children within the white supremacy structure. something is going to change. as the minister said, it is justice or else. amy: i want to thank you muhiyidin d'baha come organizer with black lives matter charleston. so many people have gathered in the southern city. i wanted to turn nowerend jesse jackson. we saw him last night just as he had come out of the church paying last respects to reverend pinckney. >> i think that the emotions are

high. people are soon to be rallying to each other in unusual ways. the question is, is this an embarrassment or transformational? if this had happened on the next state over, would there be the same amount of fervor? black men unarmed are being shot down. we will see in this day, for example, brother pinckney was fighting to deal with too much easy access to guns in the state. 350,000 people have no health insurance in the state. one fourth of the state is in poverty, yet they reject 10 billion-dollar for medicaid. 25% of the population is african-american, 75% of the prison population is african-american.

it seems to me if we're going to deal with the issue of poverty and the issues that matter [indiscernible] amy: and your thoughts on the confederate flag? >> the confederate flag must come down. there must be a statue boycott. the flag represents secession. states rights over federal rights. in suppression [indiscernible]

this is a little deeper than just racism. the confederates won significant concessions when the war was over. none of them were indicted, all were pardoned, although they try to overthrow the government. the second concession, the right to get paid for the slaves had to give up. the third concession was, they got the right to control the votes will stop. the right to control the right of women. they got the right to control health care, education, and labor and voting. so that the concessions the confederates won was substantial. and to this day, 25%

african-american [indiscernible] i am not impressed [indiscernible] if the flag comes down, we still have less access to voting. if the flag comes down and we still have high racial profiling and blacks in jail that are at the rate of three times to whites, it is not a good deal. will they increase bank lending in a more effective use of pension funds yet though? what will happen be on this moment of passion? amy: as people came to columbia to the state house to see reverend pinckney, the state senator, first african-american since reconstruction to lay in state and the capitol rotunda, they had to pass a confederate

flag. do you think nikki haley, the governor, could have just taken it down like the governor of alabama did? >> i'm not sure she could do that, technically. i think she is taken a decent position, the right position. many are taking that position. but the agenda is anti-black. with white males primacy. it is anti-semitic with religious supremacy. it is anti-female. we must have an agenda -- the confederacy to rejoin america and rejoin the union, they must make a bigger decision then taking -- they must rejoin the union of states. 350,000 people without health insurance in the state. a quarter of the state of poverty and they reject $10 million -- $10 billion in

medicaid. that is a high investment of returns. this is the same state where congressman wilson called the president a liar [indiscernible] where susan smith killed her two babies. amy: where were you born? >> she killed those two babies and set a black man that didn't even exist, so that we cannot settle for [indiscernible] amy: you're standing on calhoun street right in front of mother emanuel. >> a slave holder. this place is dripping with the kind of indecency slavery was real. an extension of slavery was even worse, many ways. at least slave masters tried to protect the health of their slave enough for them to work and reproduce.

when it kept the political and military power, there were thousand blacks lynched in the state without one indictment all being carried out by judges and police. the depth of resentment and minas and toxicity here must not be played down. amy: your thoughts on dylann roof begin the charleston joe as his officer michael slager who gunned down walter scott? the african-american man who was running away from him and he shot him in the back in north charleston? >> one man shot in the back running and nine more shot in the church across the street. 10 blacks are dead, two white man in jail. and we do not know what the outcome would be. we know the result that these men are dead and who killed them, but the question of what will be done beyond using these

two guys as posters to represent the culture. the culture is much deeper and wider than these two men. amy: the reverend jesse jackson standing in front of mother emanuel church as thousands pay their last respects to south carolina state senator and reverend clementa pinckney. today, the funeral for reverend pinckney. thousands are lining up to attend. that doesn't for our broadcast. a special thanks to the sustainability institute here in charleston and to our local crew. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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