CHARLESTON, South Carolina -- In an impassioned eulogy that touched on race, gun control and the Confederate flag, President Barack Obama addressed thousands of mourners at Rev. Clementa Pinckney's funeral in Charleston on Friday.
"We are here today to remember a man of God who lived by faith," said Obama, who flew to Charleston after giving a speech outside the White House about the Supreme Court decision in favor of gay marriage.
In a speech filled with allusions to grace and faith, Obama talked about the Confederate flag.
"For too long we were blind to the pain that the confederate flag stirred in our citizens... The flag has always represented more than ancestral pride. For many, black and white, that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression," he said. "It's true a flag did not cause these murders. But," Obama said, the "flag was a reminder of oppression."
"By taking down that flag, we express God's grace," he added.
Drawing applause and encouragement from the crowd of thousands, Obama gave an emotional speech, saying that Rev. Pinckney had been "slain in his sanctuary" and that the reverend "embodied a politics that was neither mean nor small," Obama said. "He never gave up."
Obama, who knew Pinckney, a state senator, described him as "a good man."
"The first thing I noticed was his graciousness," he said. "Rev. Pickney embodied a politics that was neither mean nor small. He conducted himself quietly and kindly and diligently."
"What a good man." Obama on #ClementaPinckney http://t.co/VvOJ9leC1p pic.twitter.com/NyBJevJWu1— Mashable (@mashable) June 26, 2015
Obama also addressed the history of attacks on black churches. "But God works in mysterious ways," he said.
"I've been reflecting on this idea of grace," Obama said. "The grace of the families that lost loved ones...the grace described in one of my favorite hymnals -- the one we all know -- Amazing Grace." The president then launched into a rendition of that hymn, the rest of the arena joining him.
He also called for action, invoking Pinckney when he said, "It would be a betrayal of everything Rev. Pinckney stood for if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again... Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other, that my liberty depends on you being free, too."
"He knew that the path of grace involves an open mind but, more importantly, an open heart. That's what I felt this week." - @POTUS— Mashable News (@MashableNews) June 26, 2015
The TD Arena where Obama spoke filled up in the early hours of the morning, with long lines forming outside. More than 5,500 people had packed into the arena, officials said.
The doors to the arena have closed. The choir is primed for the service. Nearly every seat filled, floor to rafters. pic.twitter.com/Uc0pOT1vMX— Trymaine Lee (@trymainelee) June 26, 2015
Margaret Nelson was among those who said she was happy the President had come to deliver the eulogy.
"We need to learn to live together," Margaret Nelson, of Charleston. #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/WvxvOoduCi— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
Antoine Wans said it was an important gesture towards healing.
"It signifies a certain solidarity, of bringing together the nation," Antoine Wans, on Obama's stop in SC. pic.twitter.com/wvUY8ZvVYE— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
"I think that's why the president came. Not the color of his skin. He came out of love," Valerie Hollins, from Atlanta. #ClementaPinckey— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
"I think it's time...for unity to really to begin to mean something," David Gillems, from NYC. #ClementaPinckney pic.twitter.com/iXcESgOrZx— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
Pinckney was among the nine victims who were murdered on June 17 while they participated in a Bible study group at Emanuel AME Church. Dylann Roof, a young white supremacist, was arrested in connection with the killings and charged with nine counts of murder. Roof is being held at a jail in North Charleston, just a few miles up the road from the church.
Rev. Clementa Pinckney on the cover of the funeral program. #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/m3laWrMyVt— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
Funerals and viewings for the victims began late this week at Emanuel AME Church and other locations around Charleston and South Carolina. The church closed for several days after the murders, but reopened for mass on June 21.
Crowd is truly huge leading up to TD Arena, where Rev. Pinckney's funeral will be held. #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/lIMgWpfriB— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
Dani Windham, from Charleston, passing out water to folks melting in the South Carolina heat. #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/f3b6o2SkgL— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) June 26, 2015
Pinckney's body passed near the Confederate flag that flies near the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia on Wednesday as his body was taken inside for a public viewing. Two separate churches also held viewings on Thursday, including Emanuel AME Church.
At the end of his eulogy, Obama led the mourners in a rendition of Amazing Grace.