Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell attacked “some” in the Republican Party for practicing “a level of intolerance that’s not good for the party or consistent with American values.”
On race relations in America, Powell said, “We do have a ways to go but let’s not overlook how far we’ve come. Fifty years ago nobody could have dreamed that a black president would be making the statement just made or that a black guy could be secretary of state, chairman of the national joint chiefs of staff. We’ve made great progress and in that progress. A lot of people have been left behind and no illusions about the fact that there are still people in this country who will judge you by the color of your skin. I face it had in the course of my career. I’ve always tried to make the problem that of the racist and not of me and just keep doing my job to the best of my ability.”
He continued, “The Black Lives Matter, that’s a way of capturing the essence of a problem where blacks have been killed by police officers in a way that doesn’t seem appropriate. Not that killing is appropriate in any circumstances. And I don’t mind the slogan and movement because it draws attention to a problem but the greater problem is violence in our society. Black on black violence is worse than white policeman on black violence.”
When asked if he still see a dark vein of intolerance within the Republican party as he stated earlier in the year Powell said, “Many people say why are you calling us racist. I’m not calling you racist but there’s some people in the party that practice a level of intolerance that’s not good for the party or consistent with American values.”
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