Posted on July 8, 2016

Gingrich: White Americans ‘Don’t Understand Being Black in America’

Jesse Byrnes, The Hill, July 8, 2016

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich on Friday said white Americans “don’t understand being black in America” as he reflected on a series of shootings across the nation this week.

“It took me a long time and a number of people talking to me over the years to begin to get a sense of this: If you are a normal, white American, the truth is you don’t understand being black in America and you instinctively underestimate the level of discrimination and the level of additional risk,” Gingrich said.

The former Speaker and potential Donald Trump vice presidential pick discussed race during a live Facebook video with liberal commentator Van Jones.

The discussion came after police killed black men in Baton Rouge, La., and suburban St. Paul, Minn., earlier this week, and a gunman killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday night during a protest against the earlier killings.

“We’ve got to rethink what it means to be American and how we function together as an extended family,” Gingrich said.

 

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[Editor’s Note: The full interview is available at the original article link below.]