Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Tuesday delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor about racism and the protests that have erupted nationwide since the death of George Floyd.
Booker said the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis last week was a “searing” reminder for many Black Americans that “this could have been me. That this even would have been me in the same circumstances.”
Being Black in America is “to know that a misunderstanding, that an implicit racial bias that an interaction that should be everyday and routine can become a moment that your life is turned upside down, your body becomes broken or you are killed,” continued Booker, who is Black.
“It’s why so many Black Americans scream out: ‘Do you see me? I do not have your equal justice under law. Do you see me? I do not have justice for all. Do you see me? I matter. I matter. Black lives matter. Black bodies matter. America, I love you, do you see me? Do you know my experiences? Do you know the failings of our ideals?’”
“Hope is essential but it is not enough,” Booker added.
Booker, the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, joined the Senate in 2013 and said it was “literally the least diverse place” he’d seen. Booker ended his run for president in January.
Check out Booker’s address in the video above.