Sen. Tim Scott said he has felt racially discriminated against in the halls of Congress even though he is an elected official.
“So while I thank God I have not endured bodily harm, I have, however, felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted. I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and humiliation that comes with feeling like you’re being targeted for nothing more than being yourself,” the South Carolina Republican, one of two African-American senators in office, said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Scott recalled that he was stopped last year from entering his Senate office by a U.S. Capitol security guard despite wearing his identifying pin. The supervisor called to apologize for the officer’s skeptical behavior that night. Scott said he has received at least three similar apologies from supervisors or chiefs of police since he has been in the Senate. In another story, he said he was denied entry to an event his white staffers were allowed to enter.
But despite the nationwide outcry over racial discrimination, Scott said there is never any justification for violence against a police officer, as in the Dallas shootings last week, and he implored activists remain peaceful.
“To see it as I have had the chance to see it helps me understand why this issue has wounds that have not healed,” Scott said. He said it is time for the country to have a “serious conversation” to achieve unity and understanding in a time of racial strife.
“Recognize that just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another does not mean it does not exist. To ignore their struggles, our struggles, does not make them disappear. It simply leaves you blind and the American family very vulnerable.”
