President Obama led thousands of mourners in singing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral for slain Charleston State Senator, Clementa Pinckney. Obama was delivering the eulogy for Senator Pickney, who was gunned down last week at the Emmanual AME Church. The Charleston shooting also claimed the lives of eight other parishioners who were participating in Bible study.
Obama spoke of how the senator embodied the virtues of kindness, humility and most importantly, grace during his life.
“He was a good man,” Obama said. “He believed his efforts would deliver a better life to those who followed… Rev. Pickney embodied a politics that was neither mean nor small. He conducted himself quietly and kindly and diligently.”
During the speech, President Obama received several standing ovations and affirmations from the crowd which climaxed when he began to sing “Amazing Grace.” He then spoke the names of each of the people who were slain in the church. After descending from the podium, he hugged Senator Pinckney’s widow and two daughters before taking his seat.
Social media erupted after Obama’s eulogy for Senator Pinckney with many tweeting their reactions to his impassioned delivery.
#TwitpicYourReactionToPresObamasSpeech pic.twitter.com/UNmLO1dRKI
— BlackGirlNerds (@BlackGirlNerds) June 26, 2015
#TwitpicYourReactionToPresObamasSpeech pic.twitter.com/Gx3ns1rjuu
— sydney (@justchii_) June 26, 2015
His speech also touched on broader social issues plaguing the United States.
He called listeners’ attention to the “the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation,” and said the country needs action on gun control, not just talk.
Obama also used his time at the podium to call for a fairer criminal justice system, better training of police, and a greater awareness of hiring discrimination.
President Obama also had a few words for the alleged shooter, Dylan Roof.
“He failed to comprehend what Rev. Pinckney so well understood — the power of God’s grace,” the president said. “He’s given us the chance where we’ve been lost to find our best selves. We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency short-sightedness and fear of each other, but we got it all the same.”
This speech is a poignant end to a week which saw Obama’s Affordable Care Act and the rights for gays to legally marry be upheld by the Supreme Court.
President Obama was accompanied by First Lady Michele Obama. Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Dr. Jill Biden, and many other dignitaries, including Hillary Clinton, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and House Speaker John Boehner were also in attendance.
Photo via Yahoo News
