Jeffries: America a ‘Great Country’ But ‘Systemic Racism Has Been in the Soil’ ‘for Over 400 Years’ and Hasn’t Been ‘Crushed’

On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Cross Connection,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that America is a “great” nation that has “come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Systemic racism has been in the soil of this country for over 400 years, and we still haven’t crushed this cancer, and we need to.”

Jeffries said, “I’m not quite sure what got into Tim Scott. I mean, he was parroting classic Republican talking points. Yes, this is a great country. We know this. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Systemic racism has been in the soil of this country for over 400 years, and we still haven’t crushed this cancer, and we need to. And so, Tim Scott was a little bit out of pocket with respect to his response. But hopefully, rationality will be regained by him as we continue to engage in these discussions and we can get this [police reform] over the finish line prior to the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.”

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