During an interview with The Grio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pointed out America's structural racism and how its ubiquitous presence has even affected our roads.
Buttigieg noted:
"There is racism physically built into some of our highways."
Shortly thereafter, the conservative organization Young America's Foundation (YAF) sent out a tweet attempting to mock Buttigieg for his comment.
YAF must not have done their research before tweeting, however—many Twitter users were quick to point out Buttigieg was absolutely correct in his comments.
The U.S. has a long and well-documented history of destroying Black homes and splitting up low-income communities with highways in urban areas.
Even groups like the Libertarian Party of Texas had to cringe at YAF's attempt at humor.
Buttigieg made his comments while promoting President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan, which contains funds to address the inequality caused by racist policies like redlining.
YAF probably wasn't expecting to be the butt of the joke after posting their tweet.
Racism is an ever-present force in American history and it influenced almost everything, including our highways.
Dismantling systemic racism in the United States will be a long, hard process, but acknowledging its presence in our infrastructure is a good first step.
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