By Nicole Gaouette
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told participants in the State Department Students Program on Friday that issues of race and diversity were on everyone’s mind given the events of the past week, going on to say that “hate is not an American value” and that those who embrace it “damage our public discourse.”
“It’s simply important to say — although I think it’s well understood and embraced I’m certain by everyone in this room — we all know hate is not an American value, nowhere is it an American value,” Tillerson said.
The US has been roiled by a debate over race in the wake of unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Donald Trump widened the controversy earlier this week by blaming “both sides” — neo-Nazis and white supremacists along with those protesting them — for the violence.
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