During the second night of primary debates on CNN, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand acknowledged she has white privilege and said she will have conversations with suburbanites to explain their privilege to them.
The New York Democrat said she believes Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris should not be the only ones talking about racism in the country.
“I think as a white woman of privilege who is a U.S. senator running for president of the United States, it is my responsibility to lift up those voices that aren’t being listened to. And I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explain to them what white privilege actually is,” Gillibrand said.
“That when their son is walking down a street with a bag of M&M’s in his pocket, wearing a hoodie, his whiteness protects him from not being shot,” she continued. “When his — when her — when their child has a car that breaks down and he knocks on someone’s door for help and the door opens and the help is given, it’s his whiteness that protects him from being shot. That’s what white privilege in America is today.”
Gillibrand said because she is white, it is her job to “lift up those stories” and explain to communities like in Youngstown, Ohio, how their white privilege benefits them.
