I know, as President of the United States, that this is something we will get done. Celeste: Would you please elaborate on your planned efforts to address white supremacy? Sen. Booker: Absolutely. I said this a few weeks ago at Mother Emanuel Church, addressing white supremacy is not an issue of charity or philanthropy, it’s an issue of national security. We’ve seen the majority of terrorist attacks in our country since 9/11…and then right-wing extremist groups, and the majority of them have been white supremacists groups and individuals. This is something that we have to do more of to combat with efforts that are proportionate to the size of the problem. So, if I am President of the United States, I would create a White House Office to combat hate crimes and white supremacist violence…that really focuses on coordinating efforts between federal agencies and community organizations…to make sure that federal resources work to reverse the rising tide of hate crimes in our country… we are quickly able to respond to them when they occur…and provide the victims and communities harmed by white supremacy violence the resources they need to heal and to thrive. And I’m going to charge this office with coordinating with federal and local responders combating the spread of hate online, where you see a lot of this white supremacist hate and ideology and, ultimately violence, fester, and I am going to make sure…again…that we focus on the victims to make sure that they have the resources that they need to heal, but also focus on those communities that are disproportionately targeted to make sure that they have the protection they need to prevent future acts of violence. We have a terrible underreporting of white supremacists and acts of hate crimes in our country, and so we are going to make sure that we have improved data collection… reporting by the DOJ (Department of Justice) and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) because we really can’t combat these threats unless we fully understand the extent to which they take place…and know a lot more about the contours of these historically underreported crimes. Gary: Do you have any other thoughts regarding these issues that you would like to share with the readers? Sen. Booker: Yes, this is not something that a government can do alone…we all have to do something about it. There is no neutrality, or sidelines-sitting, on this issue. If there is racism and white supremacy in this country, then it’s not enough to just say that I’m not a racist or a white supremacist… we always need an anti-white supremacy… anti-racism…and take responsibility for trying to have our culture healed and reject these kinds of cancers. I think all of us have to understand what we need to be doing to help end hate in our own lives…what are we doing to help promote understanding…to help banish ignorance… and to help create more unity. At the end of the day, our generation has to do a better job of getting rid of hate and creating more ‘indivisible’ in this one nation under God. I think that is something that we all have to take responsibility for. Celeste and Gary: Thank you. October 2019 The URBAN EXPERIENCE 37
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