Obama Assails Confederate Flag, U.S. Gun Policies in Eulogy
Clergy members wait to enter the funeral service for Sen. Clementa Pinckney, Friday, June 26, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy at Pinckney's funeral at a college arena near the Emanuel AME Church, the scene of last week's shooting.
Photographer: /David Goldman/AP PhotoPresident Barack Obama called the Confederate battle flag a symbol of racism and said the U.S. must enact stronger gun controls as he eulogized a Charleston pastor slain in an attack at his church.
“For too long, we were blind to the pain that the Confederate flag stirred,” Obama said Friday at the University of Charleston. “The flag has always represented more than just ancestral pride. For many, black and white, the flag was a symbol of systemic oppression and racial subjugation.”