Cedric Richmond and William Barr appear at House Judiciary hearing (Fox News/screen grab)
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) on Tuesday accused Attorney General William Barr of presiding over institutional racism at the Department of Justice.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Richmond took issue with Barr's opening statement, which invoked the "nonviolence" of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
"You started your testimony with eloquent words about the life and legacy of John Lewis fighting systematic racism, voter intimidation, civil rights," Richmond said. "The one thing that you have in common with your two predecessors -- Attorney General Sessions and Attorney General Whitaker -- is that when you all came here and brought your top staff, you brought no Black people."
"That, sir, is systematic racism," the Louisiana Democrat explained. "That is exactly what John Lewis spent his life fighting. And so, I would just suggest that actions speak louder than words and you really should keep the name of the honorable John Lewis out of the Department of Justice's mouth."
Watch the video below from Fox News.
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