WASHINGTON (TND) — Former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson on Wednesday praised the accomplishments of all racial groups while speaking to Washington insider Armstrong Williams about Juneteenth.
Juneteenth, celebrated every June 19, commemorates the Civil War-era freeing of American slaves. It was first declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021.
While speaking about the holiday, Carson listed a slew of achievements by Black Americans throughout history. These individuals, he said, highlight the power of racial diversity in the U.S. through their successes.
“One of the things I talk about in the book also is every group has contributed to our country,” Carson said. “We could take that walk down [memory lane] for a lot of different groups and point out all kinds of things that were contributed by that group.”
Our diversity is not a problem, it is a tremendous advantage,” he continued. “We have to stop letting people format hatred between the different groups, it doesn’t make any sense.”
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If everyone were to look the same, Carson continued, it would take away much of the “variety” in life.
“We should be happy that God was gracious enough to give us variety,” he said. “It adds spice to life. It’s a good thing, it’s not a bad thing.”
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