Princeton Theological Seminary prof.: racism like rain in U.S.
According to Yolanda Pierce--a professor of African American Religion and Literature at Princeton University Theological Seminary--racism in America is as common as rain.
The professor made the comment during a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry.”
Racism in America is as common as rain, according to one professor.
Yolanda Pierce, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, joined MSNBC’s "Melissa Harris-Perry" over the weekend to discuss the recent massacre of nine black Americans at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C.
The professor of African-American religion and literature said Americans should neither dismiss the Charleston shooting as “an anomaly,” nor a “senseless crime.”
“Actually, it makes perfect sense,” Pierce said, adding that “[r]acism in this country is as ubiquitous as rain.”
During the panel, Pierce also criticized individuals who have identified the shooter as a “lone wolf.”
“He’s not a lone wolf. He is situated in a community and a community is in part connected to the heinous act,” Pierce said.
According to CNN, officials say the 21-year-old shooter from Eastover, S.C. told police investigators that his primary motive behind the shooting was a desire to start a race war.
“He told us why he did what he did and he told us who he hated and he told us why,” Pierce said. “We have to take that seriously so we stop thinking, ‘Oh, this is just an individual and it won’t happen again.’”
“It happens with a great degree of regularity… Our institutions and our structures are racist,” she said.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @gabriellahope_
