(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) On Friday, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared his shock at the criticism he faced after asserting that highways are racist.
During an interview at Carnegie Mellon University, Buttigieg brought attention to alleged racism in the construction of highways and the implications of being black while driving.
Pete Buttigieg says he was “shocked by how controversial it was” when he talked about how highways are “racist” pic.twitter.com/2q9uexNySw
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“I’m shocked by how controversial it was when I made reference to the simple fact that a lot of black neighborhoods got wiped out by the way highways were built,” he claimed, acknowledging pushback following repeated racism claims.
In April 2023, Buttigieg faced scrutiny for reiterating that highways and roads exhibit racist tendencies. “We have a crisis when it comes to roadway fatalities in America, comparable to gun violence: racial disparities,” he claimed at the time.
“Black and brown — they face a higher probability of losing their lives either while driving or as pedestrians struck by a vehicle. Numerous factors, often rooted in discrimination, contribute to this elevated risk,” he added.
Such claims arose as the Biden administration utilized taxpayer money to fund the promotion of racial “equity” in roads. In 2021, Buttigieg pledged $1 billion to promote racial equity in roads. Specifically, he drew attention to how black communities were affected by the 1950s creation of interstate highways, as reported by the Associated Press.
During his remarks at Carnegie, Buttigieg asserted that he highlighted so-called racism in road systems to address and improve them.
“We know we got to get it better than we got it in the ’50s and ’60s,” Buttigieg said on Wednesday. “I didn’t bring that up because want everybody to feel bad about it. I brought it up because we can do something about it, because we have funding to do something about it. The Hill District right here in Pittsburgh is one of thousands of examples around the country, and we can do something about that.”
