U.S. President Joe Biden and top White House officials railed against white supremacy, asking Americans to unite against hatred in the wake of what authorities describe as a racially-motivated killing of three Black people in Florida over the weekend.
"Hate will not prevail in America," Biden told civil rights leaders and administration officials in the East Room of the White House on Monday. "Now is the time for all Americans to speak up. History is being erased, books are being banned."
Biden hammered home the message in two separate meetings at the White House, one attended by the family of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. He hailed his administration's work to fight against hate crimes, voter suppression and ensuring equal rights for all, as well as making lynching a federal hate crime.