Gov. Bentley: Removing the Confederate flag was 'the right thing to do'

Removing the confederate battle flag from outside the State Capitol building was “the right thing to do” and shows the world Alabama has moved beyond its racist past, Gov. Robert Bentley told a black business group during a Friday, June 26 awards breakfast on U.S. 280.

“We need to remove any impediment that hurts us as a state in our efforts to create jobs,” Bentley said during his address before the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneurs & Innovators Conference at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center. “If companies want to come to Alabama, I want them to have the image that we are open to everyone, that we are open to all of the citizens of our state and our nation.”

The governor said the decision to take down the Confederate Battle Flag and other confederate flags flying outside the State Capitol building was his alone. He purposely did not discuss it with anyone and did it with no fanfare, without holding a press conference.

“I always pray about things I do, but this came from my heart,” the governor said. “I felt it was the right decision. We always should look back and honor history because history is what it is. But we need to look forward and remove any impediment that separates us.”

Unlike the governor of South Carolina, who has asked the legislator to consider removing the Confederate flag flying in that state’s capital, Bentley opted not to take the matter before Alabama lawmakers.

“It was a decision of my heart and my head, and I ordered it down,” Bentley said. “I became the first governor in the United States to do this. A lot have talked about it. I think it’s significant that the governor of Alabama was the first to do it.”

 Bentley acknowledged the June 17 fatal shooting of nine people inside a black church in Charleston, S.C. by a man who has made racial comments played a role in his decision. Photos on social media have emerged of the  21-year-old shooter, Dylann Roof, posing for photos with the Confederate battle flag.

 “This brought it to our attention, even though I realized this has been a subtle, hidden problem for a long time,” Bentley said. “It’s something we probably should have dealt with. I’m so grieved people would lose their lives from someone who is probably mentally disturbed. We need to do anything we can to bring people together, and I truly believe what I did will do that and will help move our state forward.”

Bentley said Alabama cannot run from its past, but added the state has overcome it’s racist history. Taking down the Confederate flag is a big step forward in removing obstacles that separate Alabamians, he said.

“When I became governor, I became governor of everybody,” he said. “Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, independent, we are all Alabamians. I want us to be looked at in a different light,” the governor said. “We are not the Alabama of 1963. Birmingham is not the Birmingham of 1963. We are not the Alabama of 1865.”

Bentley received thunderous applause from attendees of the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce breakfast. After his speech, he received a Small Business Champion award that group president Jerry Mitchell said was in the works weeks before his decision on the Confederate flag.

Curtis Richardson, president of the Greater Birmingham Black Chamber of Commerce, serves on the governor’s Alabama Small Business Commission. Mitchell is an advisor for the commission.

“These are entrepreneurs and innovators, the beginners of small businesses that develop into large businesses,” Bentley said. “I’m very proud of what this group is doing. We want to help small businesses and have done that with our Small Business Commission. We want to create jobs in this state, to help people have opportunities to create their own companies.”

Bentley said the Alabama Small Business Commission is comprised of small business owners across the state who advise government leaders on how they can help them grow.

“You know what your obstacles are, you know when you can’t borrow money,” he said. “Government should help you, not hurt you. We are making a lot of progress. We have a long way to go. We’re on this journey and will continue to move forward.”