Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett acknowledged racism persists in America during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
The president’s pick for the high court was asked by Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, if she had seen the video of George Floyd, a Black man, who was killed while in police custody.
The video went viral after Floyd died on Memorial Day, sparking Black Lives Matter protests across the nation.
“As you might imagine, given that I have two black children, that was very, very personal for my children,” Judge Barrett said, saying she saw the video. “We wept together in my room.”
Judge Barrett, who adopted two children from Haiti, said it is uncontroversial and an obvious statement that “racism persists in our country.”
But the nominee said she could not put her finger on the extent and the nature of the problem.
Mr. Durbin, speaking to reporters during a break in the hearing, said he appreciated the judge’s experience of trying to explain the video.
“I thought it was a very genuine and human response, particularly from a mother, as she said, of a biracial family,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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