Biden and Harris ask US to fight white supremacy after Florida shooting
By Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden and top White House officials railed against white supremacy on Monday, asking Americans to unite against hatred in the wake of what authorities describe as a racially-motivated killing of three Black people in Florida over the weekend.
«Hate will not prevail in America,» Biden told civil rights leaders and administration officials in the East Room of the White House. «Now is the time for all Americans to speak up. History is being erased, books are being banned.»
Biden hammered home the message in two separate meetings at the White House, one attended by the family of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. He hailed his administration's work to fight against hate crimes, voter suppression and ensuring equal rights for all, as well as making lynching a federal hate crime.
“Silence is complicity and we’re not going to remain silent,” Biden said. «White supremacy is a poison.»A 21-year old white gunman shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General (NYSE:DG) store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. The shooter, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Biden said the killings were being investigated as a hate crime.
Local sheriff T.K. Waters (NYSE:WAT) has said the shooting was racially motivated. Authorities say the shooter left behind several manifestos for media, his parents and law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people.
Hate crimes in the U.S. surged nearly 12% in 2021, according to the latest data available, the FBI said in March, with the majority fueled by racial or ethnic bias.
«We have to act,» Biden insisted, noting that white
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