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CPAC 2021

‘I Wish the Lessons of My Parents’ Generation Were Being Taught Today’: Rep. Burgess Owens on Ending Systemic Racism

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NFL star Burgess Owens attends the welcome reception for "A Salute To Our Troops" weekend in New York City on Nov. 7, 2008. Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Microsoft
Melanie Sun
Melanie Sun
2/28/2021|Updated: 3/1/2023

Despite growing up in an America segregated by the KKK and Jim Crow, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) says the remarkable success he saw in his family and community growing up instilled in him a sense of pride that helped him see success was possible in his own life.

“I grew up at a time where, a black community—even though we were segregated in Tallahassee, Florida, even though at 12 years old, I was watching in front of Florida State Theater because we couldn’t go into that particular theater—we turned within,” he told The Epoch Times’s Crossroads program on Saturday.

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Melanie Sun
Melanie Sun
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Melanie is a reporter and editor covering world news. She has a background in environmental research.
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