Last Thursday, Rick Perry spoke before the National Press Club in Washington and surprised many by his frank remarks on race, reports The Washington Post. He began by recounting the horrific lynching of Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas, in 1916, before going on to address America’s difficulties in grappling with its racist past.
He accused Democrats of failing to protect families of color from rising housing costs due to zoning rules. And he took a surprising stance on the role of the Federal Government in matters of race. Perry said: "There has been and there will continue to be an important and a legitimate role for the federal government in enforcing civil rights." This was an important admission, given Republicans’ tendency to emphasize states’ rights over the role of the federal government in matters of race.
