President Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney, Analytic and Descriptive Tables Version 5: August 4, 2016 William L Benzon C O N T E N T S
Some Explanatory Notes ......................................................................................................... 1 Posts and Working Paper ....................................................................................................... 1 Summary Table ........................................................................................................................... 2 Analytic Table .............................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Cardinal Moments ................................................................................................. 12 The Eulogy Without Analytical Indicators ................................................................... 15
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Some Explanatory Notes This is a working document. As such it is subject to change. I list the version and date below the title. I found the text on CNN at the following URL: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/27/politics/obama-eulogy-clementa-pinckney/ Here is a video of the eulogy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK7tYOVd0Hs There are three tables: 1) Summary Table, 2) An Analytic Table, and 3) A Table of Cardinal Moments. The Summary Table is derived from the Analytic Table and depicts the eulogy’s structure on a single page. The analytic table is simple. It consists of three columns: 1) paragraph number, 2) text, and 3) my comments, if any. I’ve also inserted unnumbered rows for purposes of indicating textual divisions. I also use coloring to facilitate the analysis. My object is not to look for anything deep or hidden, but simply to point out what’s there to see. The cardinal moments table is derived from the analytic table and consists of four columns: 1) paragraph number, 2) mentions of grace, 3) mentions of blindness and sight, and 4) audience response. Finally, I have included the text without analytical apparatus other than paragraph numbering, which I supplied.
Posts and Working Paper I have four posts at New Savanna about this eulogy and one at 3 Quarks Daily: • • • • •
Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 1: The Circle of Grace: http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/2015/07/obamas-eulogy-forclementa-pinckney-1.html Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 2: Performing Black, Three Discussions: http://newsavanna.blogspot.com/2015/07/obamas-eulogy-for-clementa-pinckney-2.html Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 3: The Technics of Grace: http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/2015/07/obamas-eulogy-forclementa-pinckney-3.html Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 4: To Redeem a Nation: http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/2015/07/obamas-eulogy-forclementa-pinckney-4.html Obama’s Pinckney Eulogy and the Place of Religious Discourse in Civic Life: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2015/07/obamas-pinckney-eulogy-and-religious-discourse-in-civic-life.html
I have collected these posts, along with supplementary materials, into a working paper: Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney: Technics of Power and Grace: https://www.academia.edu/14487024/Obama_s_Eulogy_for_Clementa_Pinckney_Technics_of_Power_and_Grace
Pinckney Eulogy
1
Summary Table The columns: 1) numerical order, 2) paragraphs in the section (see the next table), 3) a label, and 4), brief descriptive remarks. Order Paragraphs 1 1 - 5 2 3
6 - 16 17 - 27
Label (1) Prologue [Threshold Event] (2) Pinckney & Church (3) Nation
Ω
21 - 27
(Middle) Violation and Grace
3’
28 - 39
(3’) Nation
2’
40 - 44
(2’) Pinckney & Families
1’
45 - 48
(1’) Closing [Threshold Event]
Characterization Invokes God and cites Scripture. Address to Pinckney’s relations. Starts with Pinckney and his friends and relatives. ¶17: Uses “nation” for first time. ¶18: Civil Rights Movment. The role of the church in the nation. ¶21: “our nation’s original sin.” Only place where “the killer” is mentioned. Grace enters as a theme that carries through the rest of the eulogy. ¶28: “As a nation…” Starts with the nation and talks about changes we must make. ¶40: “…everything Reverent Pinckney stood for…” ¶41: “…forgiveness expressed by those families…” ¶45: “Amazing grace.” ¶46: Sings the hymn. ¶47: Calls the nine names. ¶48: “May God continue to shed His grace on the United States of America.”
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Analytic Table I have high-lighted various fragments of text, using teal blue to mark occurrences of the word “grace” and yellow to highlight various things I think are important, including tokes of the blindness/sight theme. The indications of audience response – “(Applause)” – are there in the transcript. I did not add or subtract any such indications, but obviously they give only a crude index of audience response. I’ve highlighted audience response in gray.
Section of Text
Comment
1.
Prologue THE PRESIDENT: Giving all praise and honor to God. (Applause.)
2. 3.
The Bible calls us to hope. To persevere, and have faith in things not seen. "They were still living by faith when they died," Scripture tells us. "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on Earth." We are here today to remember a man of God who lived by faith. A man who believed in things not seen. A man who believed there were better days ahead, off in the distance. A man of service who persevered, knowing full well he would not receive all those things he was promised, because he believed his efforts would deliver a better life for those who followed.
Acknowledgment. Throughout the eulogy I’ve highlighted audience response in gray. Hebrews 11:13: The basis for the following remarks.
4.
5. 6.
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Notice how this echoes the immediately preceding verse. This is simple & obvious. And it establishes a strong connection between the here and now in the secular world and the events and precedents in the Scripture, a sacred text. To Jennifer, his beloved wife; to Eliana and Malana, his beautiful, wonderful Address. & closes the opening daughters; to the Mother Emanuel family and the people of Charleston, the people of acknowledgment. South Carolina. Phase 1 (A): Here and now, Pinckney, his family, & church This is about Pinckney. I cannot claim to have the good fortune to know Reverend Pinckney well. But I did Obama establishes a connection between have the pleasure of knowing him and meeting him here in South Carolina, back himself and Pinckney. when we were both a little bit younger. (Laughter.) Back when I didn't have visible grey hair. (Laughter.) The first thing I noticed was his graciousness, his smile, his reassuring baritone, his deceptive sense of humor – all qualities that helped him wear so effortlessly a heavy burden of expectation. Friends of his remarked this week that when Clementa Pinckney entered a room, it Now he branches out to friends and his was like the future arrived; that even from a young age, folks knew he was special. family history. Anointed. He was the progeny of a long line of the faithful – a family of preachers who spread God's word, a family of protesters who sowed change to expand voting Pinckney Eulogy
3
8.
9.
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rights and desegregate the South. Clem heard their instruction, and he did not forsake their teaching. He was in the pulpit by 13, pastor by 18, public servant by 23. He did not exhibit any of the cockiness of youth, nor youth's insecurities; instead, he set an example worthy of his position, wise beyond his years, in his speech, in his conduct, in his love, faith, and purity. As a senator, he represented a sprawling swath of the Low country, a place that has long been one of the most neglected in America. A place still wracked by poverty and inadequate schools; a place where children can still go hungry and the sick can go without treatment. A place that needed somebody like Clem. (Applause.) His position in the minority party meant the odds of winning more resources for his constituents were often long. His calls for greater equity were too often unheeded, the votes he cast were sometimes lonely. But he never gave up. He stayed true to his convictions. He would not grow discouraged. After a full day at the capitol, he'd climb into his car and head to the church to draw sustenance from his family, from his ministry, from the community that loved and needed him. There he would fortify his faith, and imagine what might be. Reverend Pinckney embodied a politics that was neither mean, nor small. He conducted himself quietly, and kindly, and diligently. He encouraged progress not by pushing his ideas alone, but by seeking out your ideas, partnering with you to make things happen. He was full of empathy and fellow feeling, able to walk in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes. No wonder one of his senate colleagues remembered Senator Pinckney as "the most gentle of the 46 of us – the best of the 46 of us." Clem was often asked why he chose to be a pastor and a public servant. But the person who asked probably didn't know the history of the AME church. (Applause.) As our brothers and sisters in the AME church know, we don't make those distinctions. "Our calling," Clem once said, "is not just within the walls of the congregation, but...the life and community in which our congregation resides." (Applause.) He embodied the idea that our Christian faith demands deeds and not just words; that the "sweet hour of prayer" actually lasts the whole week long – (applause) – that to put our faith in action is more than individual salvation, it's about our collective salvation; that to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and house the homeless is not just a call for isolated charity but the imperative of a just society. Pinckney Eulogy
A simple numerical progression, 13, 18, 23 that sets up motion & direction. Moving outward from Pinckney to the world in which he lived and served. His politics. He fights for social justice.
Now we establish the relationship between Pinckney and the church.
The Christian way of life & how one’s faith pervades everything one does. How does this play against the separation of church and state that is fundamental to America’s Federal political structure? Keep in mind 4
14. 15.
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What a good man. Sometimes I think that's the best thing to hope for when you're eulogized – after all the words and recitations and resumes are read, to just say someone was a good man. (Applause.) You don't have to be of high station to be a good man. Preacher by 13. Pastor by 18. Public servant by 23. What a life Clementa Pinckney lived. What an example he set. What a model for his faith. And then to lose him at 41 – slain in his sanctuary with eight wonderful members of his flock, each at different stages in life but bound together by a common commitment to God. Cynthia Hurd. Susie Jackson. Ethel Lance. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. Tywanza Sanders. Daniel L. Simmons. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton. Myra Thompson. Good people. Decent people. God-fearing people. (Applause.) People so full of life and so full of kindness. People who ran the race, who persevered. People of great faith. Phase 1 (B): Add church and nation To the families of the fallen, the nation shares in your grief. Our pain cuts 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 our own in a too often hostile world, a sanctuary from so many hardships. Over the course of centuries, black churches served as "hush harbors" where slaves could worship in safety; praise houses where their free descendants could gather and shout hallelujah – (applause) – rest stops for the weary along the Underground Railroad; bunkers for the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement. They have 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's way, and told that they are beautiful and smart – (applause) – and taught that they matter. (Applause.) That's what happens in church. That's what the black church means. Our beating heart. The place where our dignity as a people is inviolate. When there's no better example of this tradition than Mother Emanuel – (applause) – a church built by blacks seeking liberty, burned to the ground because its founder sought to end slavery, only to rise up again, a Phoenix from these ashes. (Applause.) When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, services happened here
Pinckney Eulogy
that this is being delivered by the head of state and that man is preaching a sermon. He was a good man. Now we pull back to the man himself, in a modest way: good. Repetition of Pinckney’s milestones, but with the addition of one more, his death at 41. Litany of the dead. Naming those of Pinckney’s flock. Those in his care. Recall paragraphs 2 and 3: faith and perseverance. The church and black history Brings in the nation.
We’re now heading toward the transition. Church as sacred space, & psycho-social “home base”.
The heart metaphor is, of course, very important. As is the mother metaphor.
People stand and applaud (for first time?)
5
21.
anyway, in defiance of unjust laws. When there was a righteous movement to dismantle Jim Crow, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached from its pulpit, and marches began from its steps. A sacred place, this church. Not just for blacks, not just for Christians, but for every American who cares about the steady expansion – (applause) – of human rights and human dignity in this country; a foundation stone for liberty and justice for all. That's what the church meant. (Applause.) PHASE 2: Violation and Grace We do not know whether the killer of Reverend Pinckney and eight others knew all of this history. But he surely sensed the meaning of his violent act. It was an act that drew on a long history of bombs and arson and shots fired at churches, not random, but as a means of control, a way to terrorize and oppress. (Applause.) An act that he imagined would incite fear and recrimination; violence and suspicion. An act that he presumed would deepen divisions that trace back to our nation's original sin.
22.
Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. (Applause.) God has different ideas. (Applause.)
23.
He didn't know he was being used by God. (Applause.) Blinded by hatred, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that Bible study group – the light of love that shone as they opened the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. The alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court – in the midst of unspeakable grief, with words of forgiveness. He couldn't imagine that. (Applause.) The alleged killer could not imagine how the city of Charleston, under the good and wise leadership of Mayor Riley – (applause) – how the state of South Carolina, how the United States of America would respond – not merely with revulsion at his evil act, but with big-hearted generosity and, more importantly, with a thoughtful introspection and self-examination that we so rarely see in public life.
24.
Pinckney Eulogy
after “the church meant”. You hear people reply: “That’s right!”
THE KILLER. (Obama calm) We’re in transition at this point. This is the first time Dylann Roof is mentioned, but not by name. He’s simply “the killer.” He won’t be named at all. His act was not a personal one. It was not aimed at individuals as individuals. In his mind it was a symbolic act. He was attacking a group of people and an institution. And now we turn. The killer is being characterized as, in effect, an agent of God. & the strongest crowd response so far, as people stand up and applaud. & Obama’s voice is raised. This is an astounding statement, for it all but implies that Roof’s murderous act was willed by God. But notice Obama’s phrasing: “he was being used by God.” At this point we are deep in the territory of myth-logic, which has its own rules and conventions. This is important for it sets us up for establishing grace as a major theme from this point to the end. Where did those people find the grace to forgive this man? Notice the progression from city to state to nation, and the conjunction of evil with
6
Grace
25.
Blinded by hatred, he failed to comprehend what Reverend Pinckney so well understood – the power of God's grace. (Applause.)
26.
27.
28.
29.
This whole week, I've been reflecting on this idea of grace. (Applause.) The grace of the families who lost loved ones. The grace that Reverend Pinckney would preach about in his sermons. The grace described in one of my favorite hymnals – the one we all know: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound - that saved a wretch like me. - (Applause.) I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind but now I see. (Applause.) According to the Christian tradition, grace is not earned. Grace is not merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God – (applause) – as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. Grace. Phase 3 (A): The nation
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. (Applause.) He has given us the chance, where we've been lost, to find our best selves. (Applause.) We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other – 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 make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and to prove ourselves worthy of this gift.
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 – Pinckney Eulogy
generosity. This is the turning point, the structural mid-point of the eulogy/sermon. It is as though the rupture of the world caused by Roof’s act created the opening through which God’s grace could once again reveal itself and act in human affairs. I’ve marked each occurrence of the word “grace” in teal blue. We get a ‘comment’ from the organ, the first in the sermon.
Very important.
What the nation must do in response to this tragedy. The divisionary symbolism of the Confederate flag, past racial injustices, the need to do better, While Obama has referenced America before, that was in passing. Now he focuses on the nation, it’s past, and begins to look to the future. And it’s only after having invoked the terrible rupture that Obama’s ready to think of the nation. Picks up on “things not seen”, introduced in paragraph 4 and echoing scripture (in paragraph 3). The Confederate flag. The Confederacy was, of course, a threat to the nation and the occasion of its bloodiest war. And nations 7
including Governor Haley, whose recent eloquence on the subject is worthy of are built on mythology and symbols. praise – (applause) – as we all have to acknowledge, the flag has always represented Blindness is also, of course, a theme of more than just ancestral pride. (Applause.) For many, black and white, that flag was “Amazing Grace”, which, as his audience a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation. We see that now. surely knows, was written by John Newton, who had been involved in the slave trade. So Obama’s setting us up for the close.
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Removing the flag from this state's 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. (Applause.) It would be one step in an honest accounting of America's 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 God's grace. (Applause.) But I don't think God wants us to stop there. (Applause.) For too long, we've been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present. Perhaps we see that now. Perhaps this tragedy causes us to ask some tough questions about how we can permit so many of our children to languish in poverty, or attend dilapidated schools, or grow up without prospects for a job or for a career. (Applause.) Perhaps it causes us to examine what we're doing to cause some of our children to hate. (Applause.) Perhaps it softens hearts towards those lost young men, tens and tens of thousands caught up in the criminal justice system – (applause) – and leads us to make sure that that system is not infected with bias; that we embrace changes in how we train and equip our police so that the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve make us all safer and more secure. (Applause.) Maybe we now realize the way racial bias can infect us even when we don't realize it, so that we're guarding against not just racial slurs, but we're also guarding against the subtle impulse to call Johnny back for a job interview but not Jamal. (Applause.) So that we search our hearts when we consider laws to make it harder
Pinckney Eulogy
More sustained applause; people stand. The organ comments. Another standing Ovation. Notice that he carefully distinguishes between the personal characteristics (valor) of the soldiers and the cause of slavery. That is, he condemns the sin, but not the sinner. He continues with blindness and sight. He now talks of the negative consequences of slavery. The police.
Standing O at “Jamal”. And at “God’s grace”.
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34. 35. 36.
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for some of our fellow citizens to vote. (Applause.) By recognizing our common humanity by treating every child as important, regardless of the color of their skin or the station into which they were born, and to do what's necessary to make opportunity real for every American – by doing that, we express God's grace. (Applause.) For too long – AUDIENCE: For too long! THE PRESIDENT: For too long, we've been blind to the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation. (Applause.) Sporadically, our eyes are open: When eight of our brothers and sisters are cut down in a church basement, 12 in a movie theater, 26 in an elementary school. But I hope we also 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.) And I'm convinced that by acknowledging the pain and loss of others, even as we respect the traditions and ways of life that make up this beloved country – by making the moral choice to change, we express God's grace. (Applause.) We don't earn grace. We're all sinners. We don't deserve it. (Applause.) But God gives it to us anyway. (Applause.) 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, somebody says we have to have a conversation about race. We talk a lot about race. There's no shortcut. And we don't need more talk. (Applause.) None of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures will prevent every tragedy. It will not. People of goodwill will continue to debate the merits of various policies, as our democracy requires – this is a big, raucous place, America is. And there are good people on both sides of these debates. Whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. PHASE 3 (B): Return to Pinckney in context of the nation But it would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we Pinckney Eulogy
Shouted response. Notice the ascending numerical sequence. Gun violence. Note: “the husband who will never feel his wife's warm touch” – nor her beating heart.
Notice that he’s calm in this stretch. Again, a crucial distinction: between respecting traditions (of gun ownership) and choosing to change. And: in so acting WE EXPRESS God’s grace. Decision: it’s up to us what we do. The trope of the “conversation about race”. Reply: “don’t need more talk” – standing O. We’re not all of us going to get what we want.
Now he’s heading into the home stretch, 9
41.
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43.
44. 45. 46. 47.
allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again. (Applause.) Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual – that's what we so often do. To avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society. (Applause.) 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 refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby 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. Reverend Pinckney once 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.) What is true in the South is true for America. Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. That my liberty depends on you being free, too. (Applause.) That history can't be a sword to justify injustice, or a shield against progress, but must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past – how to break the cycle. He knew that the path of grace involves an open mind – but, more importantly, an open heart. That's what I've felt this week – an open heart. That, more than any particular policy or analysis, is what's called upon right now, I think – what a friend of mine, the writer Marilyn Robinson, calls "that reservoir of goodness, beyond, and of another kind, that we are able to do each other in the ordinary cause of things."
That reservoir of goodness. If we can find that grace, anything is possible. (Applause.) If we can tap that grace, everything can change. (Applause.) [7 sec] The Closing Amazing grace. [4 sec] Amazing grace. [14 sec] (Begins to sing) – Amazing grace – (applause) – 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. (Applause.) Clementa Pinckney found that grace. Cynthia Hurd found that grace. Pinckney Eulogy
picking up the thread of Rev. Pinckney, which he’d last mentioned in paragraph 26.
He’d mentioned this forgiveness in paragraph 23. Pinckney is being quoted as a source of authority. And it’s not just about the South. It’s all of us. Again, the heart, first mentioned in paragraph 19. Open heart. Think about that. What does it mean? Why is that so important? What does it allow for. And notice that the tone is still calm and reflective. You’d never know what is about to happen in few seconds. He’s beginning to ramp up. Note the relatively long pauses [square brackets]. Still low key. He pauses in complete silence before he starts singing. What were people thinking? And now they stand up and join him. And the organ and band join in. He shouts. People respond. Organ punctuations. People standing. 10
48.
Susie Jackson found that grace. Ethel Lance found that grace. DePayne Middleton-Doctor found that grace. Tywanza Sanders found that grace. Daniel L. Simmons, Sr. found that grace. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton 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 The last line, of course, echoes “America the ourselves worthy of that precious and extraordinary gift, as long as our lives endure. Beautiful.” May grace now lead them home. May God continue to shed His grace on the United States of America. (Applause.)
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Table of Cardinal Moments 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
Grace Prologue
Blind/See
Audience
Applause faith in things not seen. saw things not seen Phase 1: Here And Now, The Black Church This is about Pinckney. (Laughter.) (Laughter.) Applause Applause Applause applause He was a good man. Applause Applause applause The church and black history Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause applause Phase 2: Violation and Grace The Killer. Applause
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22. 23. 24. 25. 26.
29. 30.
grace Blinded see Grace grace. Blinded grace. grace grace blind but now I see grace grace, grace Grace Grace. Phase 3: The nation grace grace, grace. where we've been blind. blind see grace.
31. 32. 33.
grace
blind see
34. 35.
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blind eyes are open
Applause Applause applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause AUDIENCE: For too long! Applause
37.
grace
Applause Applause
38. 39.
grace
Applause Applause
40. 41. 42.
Return to Pinckney in context of the nation Applause Applause grace Applause Applause
43. 44.
grace grace The Closing
27. 28.
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Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause applause Applause Applause
Applause Applause
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45. 46.
grace grace grace
47.
grace. grace. grace. grace. grace. grace. grace. grace. grace. grace grace
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was blind but now I Applause Applause see
Applause
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The Eulogy Without Analytical Indicators This is the text that CNN obtained from the White House. I have supplied the paragraph numbering. 1.Error! Bookmark not defined.) THE PRESIDENT: Giving all praise and honor to God. (Applause.) 2.) The Bible calls us to hope. To persevere, and have faith in things not seen. 3.) "They were still living by faith when they died," Scripture tells us. "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on Earth." 4.) We are here today to remember a man of God who lived by faith. A man who believed in things not seen. A man who believed there were better days ahead, off in the distance. A man of service who persevered, knowing full well he would not receive all those things he was promised, because he believed his efforts would deliver a better life for those who followed. 5.) To Jennifer, his beloved wife; to Eliana and Malana, his beautiful, wonderful daughters; to the Mother Emanuel family and the people of Charleston, the people of South Carolina. 6.) I cannot claim to have the good fortune to know Reverend Pinckney well. But I did have the pleasure of knowing him and meeting him here in South Carolina, back when we were both a little bit younger. (Laughter.) Back when I didn't have visible grey hair. (Laughter.) The first thing I noticed was his graciousness, his smile, his reassuring baritone, his deceptive sense of humor – all qualities that helped him wear so effortlessly a heavy burden of expectation. 7.) Friends of his remarked this week that when Clementa Pinckney entered a room, it was like the future arrived; that even from a young age, folks knew he was special. Anointed. He was the progeny of a long line of the faithful – a family of preachers who spread God's word, a family of
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protesters who sowed change to expand voting rights and desegregate the South. Clem heard their instruction, and he did not forsake their teaching. 8) He was in the pulpit by 13, pastor by 18, public servant by 23. He did not exhibit any of the cockiness of youth, nor youth's insecurities; instead, he set an example worthy of his position, wise beyond his years, in his speech, in his conduct, in his love, faith, and purity. 9.) As a senator, he represented a sprawling swath of the Lowcountry, a place that has long been one of the most neglected in America. A place still wracked by poverty and inadequate schools; a place where children can still go hungry and the sick can go without treatment. A place that needed somebody like Clem. (Applause.) 10.) His position in the minority party meant the odds of winning more resources for his constituents were often long. His calls for greater equity were too often unheeded, the votes he cast were sometimes lonely. But he never gave up. He stayed true to his convictions. He would not grow discouraged. After a full day at the capitol, he'd climb into his car and head to the church to draw sustenance from his family, from his ministry, from the community that loved and needed him. There he would fortify his faith, and imagine what might be. 11.) Reverend Pinckney embodied a politics that was neither mean, nor small. He conducted himself quietly, and kindly, and diligently. He encouraged progress not by pushing his ideas alone, but by seeking out your ideas, partnering with you to make things happen. He was full of empathy and fellow feeling, able to walk in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes. No wonder one of his senate colleagues remembered Senator Pinckney as "the most gentle of the 46 of us – the best of the 46 of us." 12.) Clem was often asked why he chose to be a pastor and a public servant. But the person who asked probably didn't know the history of the AME church. (Applause.) As our brothers and sisters in the AME church know, we don't make those distinctions. "Our calling," Clem once said, "is not just within the walls of the congregation, but...the life and community in which our congregation resides." (Applause.)
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13.) He embodied the idea that our Christian faith demands deeds and not just words; that the "sweet hour of prayer" actually lasts the whole week long – (applause) – that to put our faith in action is more than individual salvation, it's about our collective salvation; that to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and house the homeless is not just a call for isolated charity but the imperative of a just society. 14.) What a good man. Sometimes I think that's the best thing to hope for when you're eulogized – after all the words and recitations and resumes are read, to just say someone was a good man. (Applause.) 15.) You don't have to be of high station to be a good man. Preacher by 13. Pastor by 18. Public servant by 23. What a life Clementa Pinckney lived. What an example he set. What a model for his faith. And then to lose him at 41 – slain in his sanctuary with eight wonderful members of his flock, each at different stages in life but bound together by a common commitment to God. 16.) Cynthia Hurd. Susie Jackson. Ethel Lance. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. Tywanza Sanders. Daniel L. Simmons. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton. Myra Thompson. Good people. Decent people. God-fearing people. (Applause.) People so full of life and so full of kindness. People who ran the race, who persevered. People of great faith. 17.) To the families of the fallen, the nation shares in your grief. Our pain cuts that much deeper because it happened in a church. The church is and always has been the center of AfricanAmerican life – (applause) – a place to call our own in a too often hostile world, a sanctuary from so many hardships. 18.) Over the course of centuries, black churches served as "hush harbors" where slaves could worship in safety; praise houses where their free descendants could gather and shout hallelujah – (applause) – rest stops for the weary along the Underground Railroad; bunkers for the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement. They have 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's way, and told that they are beautiful and smart – (applause) – and taught that they matter. (Applause.) That's what happens in church. Pinckney Eulogy
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19.) That's what the black church means. Our beating heart. The place where our dignity as a people is inviolate. When there's no better example of this tradition than Mother Emanuel – (applause) – a church built by blacks seeking liberty, burned to the ground because its founder sought to end slavery, only to rise up again, a Phoenix from these ashes. (Applause.) 20.) When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, services happened here anyway, in defiance of unjust laws. When there was a righteous movement to dismantle Jim Crow, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached from its pulpit, and marches began from its steps. A sacred place, this church. Not just for blacks, not just for Christians, but for every American who cares about the steady expansion – (applause) – of human rights and human dignity in this country; a foundation stone for liberty and justice for all. That's what the church meant. (Applause.) 21.) We do not know whether the killer of Reverend Pinckney and eight others knew all of this history. But he surely sensed the meaning of his violent act. It was an act that drew on a long history of bombs and arson and shots fired at churches, not random, but as a means of control, a way to terrorize and oppress. (Applause.) An act that he imagined would incite fear and recrimination; violence and suspicion. An act that he presumed would deepen divisions that trace back to our nation's original sin. 22.) Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. (Applause.) God has different ideas. (Applause.) 23.) He didn't know he was being used by God. (Applause.) Blinded by hatred, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that Bible study group – the light of love that shone as they opened the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. The alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court – in the midst of unspeakable grief, with words of forgiveness. He couldn't imagine that. (Applause.) 24.) The alleged killer could not imagine how the city of Charleston, under the good and wise leadership of Mayor Riley – (applause) – how the state of South Carolina, how the United States of America would respond – not merely with revulsion at his evil act, but with big-hearted generosity and, more importantly, with a thoughtful introspection and self-examination that we so rarely see in public life. Pinckney Eulogy
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25.) Blinded by hatred, he failed to comprehend what Reverend Pinckney so well understood – the power of God's grace. (Applause.) 26.) This whole week, I've been reflecting on this idea of grace. (Applause.) The grace of the families who lost loved ones. The grace that Reverend Pinckney would preach about in his sermons. The grace described in one of my favorite hymnals – the one we all know: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. (Applause.) I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind but now I see. (Applause.) 27.) According to the Christian tradition, grace is not earned. Grace is not merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God – (applause) – as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. Grace. 28.) 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. (Applause.) He has given us the chance, where we've been lost, to find our best selves. (Applause.) We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other – 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 make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and to prove ourselves worthy of this gift. 29.) 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 eloquence on the subject is worthy of praise – (applause) – as we all have to acknowledge, the flag has always represented more than just ancestral pride. (Applause.) For many, black and white, that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation. We see that now. 30.) Removing the flag from this state's 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. (Applause.) It would be one step in an honest accounting of America's history; a modest but Pinckney Eulogy
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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 God's grace. (Applause.) 31.) But I don't think God wants us to stop there. (Applause.) For too long, we've been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present. Perhaps we see that now. Perhaps this tragedy causes us to ask some tough questions about how we can permit so many of our children to languish in poverty, or attend dilapidated schools, or grow up without prospects for a job or for a career. (Applause.) 32.) Perhaps it causes us to examine what we're doing to cause some of our children to hate. (Applause.) Perhaps it softens hearts towards those lost young men, tens and tens of thousands caught up in the criminal justice system – (applause) – and leads us to make sure that that system is not infected with bias; that we embrace changes in how we train and equip our police so that the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve make us all safer and more secure. (Applause.) 33.) Maybe we now realize the way racial bias can infect us even when we don't realize it, so that we're guarding against not just racial slurs, but we're also guarding against the subtle impulse to call Johnny back for a job interview but not Jamal. (Applause.) So that we search our hearts when we consider laws to make it harder for some of our fellow citizens to vote. (Applause.) By recognizing our common humanity by treating every child as important, regardless of the color of their skin or the station into which they were born, and to do what's necessary to make opportunity real for every American – by doing that, we express God's grace. (Applause.) 34.) For too long – 35.) AUDIENCE: For too long! 36.) THE PRESIDENT: For too long, we've been blind to the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation. (Applause.) Sporadically, our eyes are open: When eight of our brothers and sisters are cut down in a church basement, 12 in a movie theater, 26 in an elementary school. Pinckney Eulogy
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But I hope we also 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. 37.) The vast majority of Americans – the majority of gun owners – want to do something about this. We see that now. (Applause.) And I'm convinced that by acknowledging the pain and loss of others, even as we respect the traditions and ways of life that make up this beloved country – by making the moral choice to change, we express God's grace. (Applause.) 38.) We don't earn grace. We're all sinners. We don't deserve it. (Applause.) But God gives it to us anyway. (Applause.) And we choose how to receive it. It's our decision how to honor it. 39.) None of us can or should expect a transformation in race relations overnight. Every time something like this happens, somebody says we have to have a conversation about race. We talk a lot about race. There's no shortcut. And we don't need more talk. (Applause.) None of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures will prevent every tragedy. It will not. People of goodwill will continue to debate the merits of various policies, as our democracy requires – this is a big, raucous place, America is. And there are good people on both sides of these debates. Whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. 40.) But it would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again. (Applause.) Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual – that's what we so often do. To avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society. (Applause.) To settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change – that's how we lose our way again. 41.) It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby 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 wellpracticed cynicism. Pinckney Eulogy
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42.) Reverend Pinckney once 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.) What is true in the South is true for America. Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. That my liberty depends on you being free, too. (Applause.) That history can't be a sword to justify injustice, or a shield against progress, but 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. 43.) That's what I've felt this week – an open heart. That, more than any particular policy or analysis, is what's called upon right now, I think – what a friend of mine, the writer Marilyn Robinson, calls "that reservoir of goodness, beyond, and of another kind, that we are able to do each other in the ordinary cause of things." 44.) That reservoir of goodness. If we can find that grace, anything is possible. (Applause.) If we can tap that grace, everything can change. (Applause.) 45.) Amazing grace. Amazing grace. 46.) (Begins to sing) – Amazing grace – (applause) – 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. (Applause.) 47.) Clementa Pinckney found that grace. Cynthia Hurd found that grace. Susie Jackson found that grace. Ethel Lance found that grace. DePayne Middleton-Doctor found that grace. Tywanza Sanders found that grace. Daniel L. Simmons, Sr. found that grace. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton found that grace. Myra Thompson found that grace.
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48.) 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.)
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