XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN MARCH 04, 2001 12:08:39 ET XXXXX
SENATOR BYRD: 'THERE ARE WHITE NIGGERS'
Senator Robert Byrd [D-WV] stunned a national television audience on Sunday when he used the term "white n-words" during an interview.
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Byrd, who early in his career was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, used the term on FOX NEWS SUNDAY when asked about the state of race relations in America by host Tony Snow.
"They are much, much better than they've ever been in my lifetime," Byrd said. "I think we talk about race too much. I think those problems are largely behind us... I just think we talk so much about it that we help to create somewhat of an illusion. I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, 'Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody.' We practice that." Then Byrd warned: "There are white n-words. I've seen a lot of white n-words in my time; I'm going to use that word.
"We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."
Byrd's office later issued an apology.
"I apologize for the characterization I used on this program. The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race," according to the statement.