The former head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told lawmakers Tuesday that she thinks all Americans are racially biased because every institution in the country suffers from structural racism.
Vanita Gupta, who led the division during President Obama’s second term, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she sees racism everywhere.
“I don’t think there is an institution in this country that isn’t suffering from structural racism given our history,” said Ms. Gupta, who is of Indian descent.
Her assessment of America’s character punctuated a hearing on police brutality and racism as Congress hurries to pass an overhaul of police departments.
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, asked Ms. Gupta if every person and institution is racist.
“I think every American institution has been shaped by these forces and our goal is to do what we can as policymakers and advocates to take out and try to fight it in the modern-day iterations that it appears,” she said.
Mr. Cornyn pressed further, asking if that meant all Americans were racists.
“I think we all have implicit bias and racial bias, yes I do,” she said.
“Wow,” replied Mr. Cornyn, taken aback.
“You lost me when you wanted to take the acts of a few misguided, perhaps malicious individuals and ascribe that to all Americans,” he said.
The exchange led to a brief tiff between Mr. Cornyn and Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat.
“I didn’t ask you a question,” Mr. Cornyn shot back after Mr. Durbin volunteered to respond to his question.
Mr. Durbin cited drug use statistics, saying there is an equal number of white and black drug users, but the penalties are disproportionately harsher on black people.
“There is something built into our system that doesn’t equate actual criminal conduct or criminal disposition towards the penalties that we assess,” he said.
Mr. Cornyn responded: “My only suggestion is that could be a function of poverty instead of color.”
Democrats on the panel assailed Attorney General William Barr for not pursuing more investigations into municipal police departments for brutality allegations.
“The attorney general needs to explain why the Justice Department has abandoned pattern and practice cases and the department has declined to open a broader investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department,” said Dianne Feinstein of California, the panel’s top Democrat. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder for kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who is black, for almost nine minutes, leading to Floyd’s death.
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