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“America likes to think it provides moral leadership to the world. Are you saying we’re deluding ourselves?” CBS “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked.
“No,” she said. “I think we’re being tremendous leaders. Our country is not perfect, but we continue to perfect it. Those imperfections are part of our history and we have to talk about them.”
“I was acknowledging what is a fact in the United States. Racism does exist in this country and I think it was a powerful message. Imagine any other country doing that,” she said.
MARGARET BRENNAN: This past week, you gave a speech that I want to ask you about, because it’s gotten quite a lot of attention. You said, “The original sin of slavery weaved white supremacy into our founding documents and principles.” You talked about white supremacy being linked to the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor continued discrimination against Muslims and Asian-Americans. America likes to think it provides moral leadership to the world. Are you saying we’re deluding ourselves?
AMB. THOMAS-GREENFIELD: No, I think we’re being tremendous leaders. Our country is not perfect, but we continue to perfect it. Those imperfections are part of our history and we have to talk about them. It’s- it’s our strength that we can talk about our imperfections to the world and call out other nations for those same imperfections. So it’s not a- a criticism. It’s an acknowledgement of our history. It’s an acknowledgement of where we started. But we need to look at where we’ve come. The fact that I came from a segregated high school and I’m now the permanent representative of the United States in- at the United Nations says everything about what our country is about. And I look forward to continuing to engage with other countries, to use our example, to show those other countries what they might achieve. But we still have a lot of work to do and we have to acknowledge that. But we also have to work to continue to improve our country.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But it is precisely because of the- the role you have as a cabinet member, that it drew so much criticism. I mean the Wall Street Journal editorial board called you the “Ambassador of Blame America First” saying, “It sounded like you were reciting Chinese propaganda about America and that you believe your job is to bring critical race theory to the world with a focus on criticizing your own country.” To be clear, were you comparing bigotry in America to mass atrocities carried out against minorities around the world?
AMB. THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I was acknowledging what is a fact in the United States. Racism does exist in this country and I think it was a powerful message. Imagine any other country doing that. Our country, the uniqueness of our country, is that we can self-criticize and we can move forward and our values are clear. And the purpose of that speech was to lay out our values, but also acknowledge our imperfections and acknowledge that we are moving forward. I don’t think you will see a Uyghur -a Chinese Uyghur getting on the national stage acknowledging China’s issues with- with human rights. I am not comparing our situation. I am acknowledging that we’ve come a long way and I’m very proud of what we have been able to achieve. But I’m realistic about what we have to do moving forward. And I think if we are going to be a voice around the globe for raising issues of human rights, we cannot whitewash our own issues in- in our own country.
Watch her full interview here:
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