Joe Biden Says Racism Still Exists Today

Joe Biden Says Racism Still Exists Today

Vice President Joe Biden told the civil rights activists at the National Urban League that racism is very much alive today and evident in the 2016 campaign.

"And you all recognize the overwhelming problems of the legacy of institutional racism, which we still live with today," Biden said at the National Urban League breakfast Thursday morning. "Nobody wants to say that. I know I speak out sometimes too loudly but I make no apologies for it, none."

The vice president added, "Sometimes its uncomfortable but these are uncomfortable times, we've got to shake the status quo. You know we see this racism exists today in voting."

Although Biden did not name Donald Trump in this particular speech, he has repeatedly criticized the presumptive Republican nominee's rhetoric on racially charged issues.

"The vice president knows what he is talking about … absolutely we are seeing racism," Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, told the Washington Examiner after Biden's speech. "We have a candidate on the Republican side that has made blatant offensive statements about people's race and ethnicity and I think its very sad that we are in 2016 and talking about dividing people."

This was Biden's third time addressing the Urban League at their annual legislative policy conference and he received a lifetime achievement award from the group for his service to the African-American community. As Biden left the room he joked that even once he's out of office, "You won't be able to get rid of me that easily!"

This article was first published on the Washington Examiner's website on May 19, 2016.