And brought down the Confederate Flag. As she climbed down with the flag in hand, she said, in the name of god, this flag comes down today. In the name of god, this flag comes down today amy we were at the jail where bree newsome was taken in columbia. We will speak with the supporters who gathered there before her release. Then we remember the legendary folk musician and activist pete seeger. Realize that Little Things lead to biggerhings. That is what it is all about in this wonderful parable in the new testament, the sower scattered seeds, some get stamped on and dont grow. Some fall and the rocks and they dont grow. But some seeds fall on Hallowed Ground and they grow and multiply thousandfold. Who knows where some good little thing that you have done may bring results years later that you never dreamed up. Amy all of that and more, coming up. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In this holiday special, we begin with the words of frederick douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On july 5, 1852, in rochester, new york, he gave one of his most famous speeches, the meaning of july fourth for the negro. He was addressing the rochester ladies antislavery society. This is James Earl Jones reading the historic address during a performance of howard zinns voices of a peoples history of the United States. He was introduced by howard zinn. Frederick douglass, once a slave, became a brilliant and powerful leader of the antislavery movement. In 1852, he was asked to speak in celebration of the fourth of july. Fellowcitizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am i called upon to speak here today . What have i, or those i represent, to do with your National Independence . Are the great principles of Political Freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that declaration of independence, extended to us . And am i, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us . I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This fourth of july is yours not mine. You may rejoice, i must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today . What, to the american slave, is your fourth of july . I answer a day that reveals to him, more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is a constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham, your boasted liberty, an unholy license. Your national greatness, swelling vanity. Your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless. Your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence. Your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. Your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes that would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument is needed. Oh, had i the ability, and could reach the nations ear, i would today, pour forth a stream, a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire. It is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened, the conscience of the nation must be roused, the propriety of the nation must be startled, the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed, and the crimes against god and man must be proclaimed and denounced. [applause] amy James Earl Jones reading Frederick Douglasss famous 1852 Independence Day address in rochester, new york. That was part of a performance of howard zinns voices of a peoples history of the United States. [music break] amy that is bree newsome singing staystrong a love song to freedom fighters, and its bree newsome were talking about today. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Democracy now has just returned from South Carolina, where the massacre of nine africanamerican churchgoers by a white suspect who embraced the Confederate Flag has renewed protests to remove the confederate battle flag from outside the State Capitol on its grounds. Last tuesday, South Carolina state lawmakers agreed to debate removing the flag later this summer. But early saturday morning, a 30yearold africanamerican woman named bree newsome, with a helmet and climbing gear, scaled the 30foot flagpole and unhooked the Confederate Flag. As Police Officers shouted at her to come down, bree newsome shimmied to the top of that flagpole, took the flag in her hand and said, you come against me with hatred. I come against you in the name of god. This flag comes down today you come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of god. This flag comes down today amy bree newsome recited psalm 27 and the lords prayer as she brought the flag down. As soon as she reached the ground, she was arrested, along with james tyson, who had stood at the bottom of the pole to spot her as she climbed. News station wis spoke to bree newsome as she was led away in handcuffs. She told them, every day that flag stays up there is an endorsement of hate. And why did you do that . Because it was the right thing to do, and its time for somebody to step up, do the right thing. We have to bury hate. Its been too long. Its killing us, literally. We cant do this. We cant be warring with each other all the time. Its not right. Why not wait until lawmakers vote to take it down . What is there to vote on . Theres doing the right thing, and theres doing the wrong thing. Its time for people to have the courage. Everybody who knows what the right thing is to do, we have to step up in love and nonviolence. We have to do the right thing, or else it wont stop. Every day that flag hangs up there is an endorsement of hate. I prayed on it. And i was very afraid, but then i wasnt afraid anymore, because, you know, the lord calls us all to do different things. This is what he called me to do. This is what i do. Maam, what is your name . Bree newsome. Amy that was bree newsome speaking to wis, the local station in columbia. She was being escorted away by a black Law Enforcement officer. Bree newsomes action went viral and was seen around the world. Her bail fund has raised over 110,000. Oscarnominated filmmaker ava duvernay was among the many to hail her, writing on twitter i hope i get the call to direct the Motion Picture about a black superhero i admire. Her name is breenewsome. But within about an hour, a Maintenance Worker and state Security Officer had raised a new confederate battle flag on the Capitol Grounds. Bree newsomes protest capped a week which saw at least six predominantly black churches across the south destroyed or damaged by fire, at least three of them arsons. It came one day after president obama delivered the eulogy at the funeral for South Carolina state senator and reverend Clementa Pinckney at Emanuel Ame Church in charleston, South Carolina. He was speaking at the college of charleston, the arena that held thousands. Democracy now was there as the president called for the flag to come down. Removing the flag from this states capitol would not be an act of political correctness. It would not be 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] 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 americas history, a modest but meaningful balm for so many unhealed wounds. It would be an expression of the amazing changes that have transformed this state and this country for the better, because of the work of so many people of goodwill, people of all races striving to form a more perfect union. By taking down that flag, we express gods grace. Amy that was president obama speaking friday before thousands of people at the college of charleston for the funeral for reverend and state senator Clementa Pinckney. That was one day before bree newsome took the confederate battle flag down on the Capitol Grounds in nearby columbia, the state capital. At 11 00 a. M. On saturday, the Funeral Service began for cynthia hurd, a 54yearold librarian killed in the charleston massacre on june 17 by the accused white shooter dylann roof. Meanwhile, in the capital, columbia, about two hours away Confederate Flag supporters held a rally in front of the newly replaced flag. Antiracist counterprotesters also attended, Standing Shoulder to shoulder with the flag supporters, asking passing drivers to honk the flag down. Democracy now was there. I spoke with the protesters on both sides. Heritage, not hate heritage, not racism heritage, not racism my name is william wells. And im flying this flag for the people who died, all of the people who died, anybody who died for this flag, period. Period. It aint got nothing to do with black, white, love, hate nothing. Amy are you opposed to slavery . Hell yeah, im opposed to slavery. That wasnt cool either. Amy so what does this flag means you . This means the 13 original colonies wanted to stay out of the United States government. Amy can i ask what your thoughts are, listening to him and this rally . What is your name . My names brailey. Amy and tell me the sign youre saying sayingyoure holding . Its to represent the nine people who lost their lives in charleston. Amy and what else does it say . It says, honk the flag down. Amy what are your thoughts about the Confederate Flag . It doesnt represent me, my people, my people. Whoa, whoa, whoa. My people, youre saying . My people as in african americans. Im an africanamerican woman. Youre a black american. Im an african american. Im a white american. Im married to a brown american. Excuse me, i was speaking. Im sorry. Youre right. Thank you. So, as an africanamerican woman, this flag i go to usc. And every time i have to walk past this flag, it hurts. Its not it doesnt make me feel good about being a south carolinian. Ive never been proud to be a south carolinian until this past week, because i see how great people are in charleston. Theyre really trying to fight for love. And i just want i dont want my children to have to grow up in South Carolina and see that flag that represents so much turmoil for african americans. And i understand people want to say its not a race thing, but to me it is. Flag for the americans who died flag for the americans who died my name is monifa lemons. What that flag means to me is were standing on a street right now that if you cross over that bridge, right . You know not to be there at night. If i cross over that bridge and i drive into a yard with a Confederate Flag, i know not to ask them for help if i have a flat tire. I just know that. Im not saying its true. Im saying that i know that. All right . Im saying that i know that for a fact. So, what we have to do is stop acting like we dont know that when somebody has a Confederate Flag in their yard, dont stop there. Yo, take it down take it down thats right lets go lets go take the flag down. Take it down. Take it down. This is just the first stepping stone. Amy and what does your sign say, sir . Oh, my sign, im going to let im going to let it show for itself. Amy but for people who are listening on the radio. Well, i cant believe i still have to protest this crap oh, my god. Oh, my god. Really, how many years are we still protesting it . How many marches . How many lives . How many lives . Thats the main part. How many more lives that we have to mourn over . Amy whats your name . My name is jalaludin. Im haze bergeron. Did you hear Lindsey Graham the other day on the floor of the senate say that like what happened in charleston was some mideaststyle hate . Like where has he been living , this whole time . Hes from South Carolina. Thats some South Carolinastyle hate, if you ask me. Thats some whiteass South Carolina racial hate. Thats all that is. Amy and what is your name . Stewart. Amy and why are you here today . Im here because a friend called me and said they were going to have a rally and andthat guy with the big flag over there, thats who called me. Amy whats the flag . Oh, the Confederate Flag. Amy do you think dylann roof did the wrong thing . What he did was give a black eye to the Confederate Flag by allowing the media and irrational people to say, well, that monument has got to come down because some nut killed somebody, which has nothing to do with that monument. The monument was not built over racism and over hatred. The monument was built because people died fighting for this state, just like the vietnam war memorial and world war ii. Amy thank you. They love the people that died for this state. Amy thank you. Do you . Amy thank you, stewart. Thank you. What is your name . Amy my name is amy, and im from new york. Amy what . What is your last name . Amy goodman. Goodman. Amy yeah. Are you jewish . Somebody told me that was a jewish name. Take it down take it down take it down whats the problem . My name is tom clements, and i live in columbia, born in savannah, georgia. Amy whos your greatgreatgrandfather . Well, i did this was i did this in 2008 when i came down on confederate memorial day, but i had a greatgreatgrandfather that was captured at the battle of spotsylvania, at the bloody angle and ive been there, which was just an awful, awful horrific massacre, basically. Ive another amy wait, and he was a confederate soldier . He was confederate from georgia. He was in this division, and they had this flag, which wasamy the 31st georgia volunteer infantry. Yes, from central georgia. He had five brothers. So there were six of them. Three of them were killed in the civil war. Amy so youre here with the folks that are waving the Confederate Flag . Oh, no, absolutely not. No, im totally against what they stand for. And i find that they dont really know the history. They havent even read the december 1860 reasons for secession, which were all about slavery. But i, my whole life pretty much, have had the same viewpoint, that the flag should be taken down. I like to pitch it that weve been fighting the civil war down here since the war was over. I mean, 150 years. We just commemorated it here in South Carolina. Its time to get beyond it. Amy meanwhile, down the road from the Capitol Grounds at 2 00 p. M. On saturday at the owl than Glenn Detention Center in columbia, a bond hearing was held for bree newsome and james tyson. They were charged with defacing state property, which can carry three years in prison and a 5,000 fine. About a dozen supporters waited in the lobby of the jail for their release, including fellow activists from north carolina, where bree newsome lives. I spoke with some of her supporters. What were your feelings as you watched the Confederate Flag being taken down on the property of the State Capitol . As you can see my glee, it was one of the most liberating and Beautiful Moments that i have known in all my 25 years of life, besides my daughter being born. To see that flag actually come down and all of the things that it represents being taken down by a strong black woman was one of the greatest symbols symbolic images that one person could ever witness, i feel yeah. Amy that was very interesting. During this whole past week after the massacre of the nine emanuel parishioners and their pastor, you had the American Flag above the State Capitol the South Carolina flag above the State Capitol, both at halfmast. Mmhmm. Amy and right next to them you flying strong and strong. And i think what it symbolizes hurts amy the confederate battle flag yeah, yeah. Amy flying at full mast at halfmast, full mast. Right . Flying free, while the people who were murdered are laying under the casket, right . While youre viewing peoples caskets and viewing the people while theyre laid to rest, you ca