Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath says America 'was founded on racism'

Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., called earlier this month for officials at every level of government to step up efforts to address systemic inequality, arguing at a virtual event that racism was “in every fiber” of the United States.

In response, McBath argued that recent events, such as nationwide protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd and the passage of GOP-backed election bills in Georgia and other states, were proof that systemic racism still exists. "What has been happening these last few years, I have to be honest, I think that a lot of the upheaval and the uprising that we’ve been experiencing since 2016, I think a lot of it is a great backlash to having President Barack Obama for eight years," McBath said. "I think that there are demographics of people in the country that are afraid. They are afraid of the browning of America. They are afraid that the power and authority that they have is slipping through their hands." "I think what we’ve seen since 2016 has been an awakening for America. People who thought, ‘oh, racism doesn’t really exist.’ Racism, the country was founded on racism. Racism is in every fiber of our country," she added.