Obama eulogizes slain S.C. pastor
CHARLESTON, S.C. – President Barack Obama used his eulogy for a slain pastor to deliver an unvarnished lecture on America’s racial history Friday, and then boldly sang “Amazing Grace,” a spiritual meant to summon hope in the darkest of times.
Obama also called for gun control and efforts to eliminate poverty and job discrimination, and said the Confederate battle flag – long a symbol of Southern pride – must be removed from places of honor.
“For many – black and white – that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation. We see that now,” he said.
Removing the flag, he said, “would be one step in an honest accounting of America’s history, a modest but meaningful balm for so many unhealed wounds.”
The president came to eulogize the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator whose church was founded by the leader of a failed slave revolt and burned to the ground by angry whites in 1822.
SpaceX prepares for weekend launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX stands ready to launch a much-needed load of supplies to the International Space Station this weekend on the heels of a failed supply run by Russia.
Besides food and experiments, the Dragon cargo ship ordered up by NASA holds a new docking port, or parking place, for future commercial crew capsules.
Liftoff is scheduled for 10:21 a.m. Sunday. Good flying weather is forecast for SpaceX’s unmanned Falcon rocket.
This shipment is especially critical because the space station has lost two deliveries since fall.
Associated Press
