Buttigieg responds to criticism over racist roads comment: ‘The point is not to make America feel guilty’

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday responded to criticism over his recent comments about racist bridges and highways, saying "the point is not to make America feel guilty" but to fix what he believes are injustices in the country’s infrastructure.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s "The Sunday Show," Buttigieg was asked to respond to critics who don’t believe his argument that some bridges and highways were built with racist intentions.

"What we’re doing is we are reconnecting people who may have been disconnected or divided by discriminatory decisions in the past," the secretary responded. "That helps everybody. I don’t know why anybody would be against reconnecting people who have been divided by discriminatory decisions in the past.

"And again, the point is not to make America feel guilty," he continued. "The point is to make America better and more equitable and more effective in moving people to where they need to go. The point of transportation is to connect, so if a transportation was ever used to divide, we have a responsibility, a moral one but also a very practical one, to fix it."

Buttigieg raised eyebrows earlier this month after he talked about the bipartisan infrastructure bill addressing racism in highways during a White House press briefing.

"I’m still surprised that some people were surprised when I pointed to the fact that if... (Read more)

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