Racial views of Joe Biden

Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States, former U.S. senator, and candidate to be the 46th president of the United States, has been accused of making some controversial comments and legislative actions related to race.
Opposition to busing
In the 1970s, Biden campaigned against busing as a way to desegregate schools. He also said, "I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation, and I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago." He joined with Jesse Helms to offer an amendment to an education spending bill to bar the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from requiring schools provide statistics on student ethnicity. In 1975 he said, "The new integration plans being offered are really just quota systems to assure a certain number of blacks, Chicanos, or whatever in each school. That, to me, is the most racist concept you can come up with."
In 1976, Biden unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation that would have barred the Justice Department pursuing desegregation cases that might result in a court order for busing. In 1977 during a hearing about busing school children, Biden remarked "Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it is going to explode at some point. We have got to make some move on this."
1994 Crime Bill
Biden also has been criticized for his support of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which led to mass incarceration of African-Americans. He has since apologized for portions of the legislation.
Other incidents
In 2007, he described then-candidate for U.S. President Barack Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." The remarks were widely commended by Republicans and Democrats alike.Biden later apologize after initially saying the quote was taken out of context.
At a 2019 campaign fundraiser in New York, Biden talked about his ability to work together with other senators he disagreed with during his early senate career, remarking "At least there was some civility. We got things done." He specifically named James Eastland and Herman Talmadge, both segregationists. Biden further remarked while imitating a Southern accent, that Eastland "never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’"
During the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, Biden said in an interview with that African Americans who couldn't decide whether they supported him or Donald Trump "ain't Black". He later apologized for the comment.

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