At the funeral of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who was shot in the head while being served a search warrant in North Carolina, Al Sharpton said the eulogy for Brown’s loved ones, but he also served Sen. Tim Scott (R- S.C.) in his own way.
Scott, who is currently taking criticism from Black social media, for saying “America is not a racist country” in response to President Joe Biden’s address to Congress, received a response on Monday from Sharpton who told Scott, Yes it is, NewsOne reported.
Sharpton was in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where Brown was killed and laid to rest when he said America was founded by racist policies.
The civil rights leader also took note
that Biden, an elderly white man, motivation’s are more aligned with what Black people think than the lone Black Republican in Congress whose remark denies systemic oppression of people of color, including his own.While Sharpton did not resort to calling Scott “Uncle Tim” or an Ore like Texas Democratic leader Gary O’Connor did on his personal Facebook, he made a list of points to back up his claims of why America is racist.
“The practice of America was built on racism. We were brought here to work and never get paid. That’s how the country was founded,” Sharpton said. “In 1847, Black people were chattel in Elizabeth City. What do you mean America is not racist? It was started off racism!”
“We still have racism in a systematic way in America,” he added, noting how there are examples of inequality that persisted throughout the years.
More importantly than addressing Scott’s opinion, Sharpton is more intrigued with why law enforcement has yet to release the bodycam footage of Brown’s death.
As reported by USA Today, Sharpton compared the police timidness to be transparent to a con.
“I know a con game when I see it. Release the whole tape, and let the folks see what happened to Andrew Brown,” Sharpton said.