Hillary Clinton spoke to members of the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri, about the need to address racism, calling the Charleston killings an act of “racial terrorism” and stating that the Confederate flag has no place in American society.
Clinton spoke to the African-American church just four miles from Ferguson, Missouri, less than a week after the murder of nine African Americans were murdered by a white gunman.
“I know it’s tempting to dismiss an act like this as an isolated incident.” Clinton said. “But despite our best efforts and highest hopes, America’s struggle from race is far from finished.”
“We have a moment of opportunity right now and shame on us if we don’t seize it,” she later added.
Many elected officials have called for the removal of the Confederate flag flying over South Carolina’s capitol, including Gov. Nikki Haley. In the hours since, sales of Confederate flag skyrocketed on Amazon.com.
After complimenting South Carolina’s moves toward taking down the flag, Clinton stated that the Confederate flag was nothing more than a “symbol of our nation’s racist past that has no part in our present our future.” She also commended Amazon, Wal-Mart, eBay and Sears for removing all confederate products, encouraging “all sellers to do the very same.”
