In this video clip, former Secretary of State and lifelong Republican Colin Powell admits that he still sees a “dark vein of racism” in his Republican party and America at large:

“I still see it in the Republican Party,” Powell said. “And I still see it in other parts of our country. You don’t have to be Republican to be touched by this dark vein.”

“America is still going through this transformation from where we were 50, 60 years ago. You have to remember it was just 60 or 70 years ago that we still had poll taxes, that we still had literacy tests in order to vote, that voting places were only open two days a week for African Americans. So we’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.”

Kudos to Powell for having the guts to speak the sad truth about his own party. While most Republican leaders like to ignore the rampant racism within their party’s ranks, Powell is a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope for supporters of equality and human rights.

Watch the clip: