John Kennedy (R-LA) now asking Garland to explain systemic/institutional racism.
Garland says there is both discrimination and disparate impact on a racial basis which is sometimes a consequence of historical patterns, sometimes unconscious bias, and sometimes conscious bias.
Garland says they look for a "pattern and a practice" and not in "someone's heart."
Kennedy asks if it's just about "numbers" (meaning outcome). Garland says there are discriminatory practices that are conscious, so it's not just about "numbers," but multiple factors.
Kennedy asks about the difference between people who are racist and institutions who are racist. Garland says that public institutions are collections of individuals.
Kennedy asks about "implicit bias." "Does that mean I'm a racist no matter what I think or do?" Garland says being a human means having implicit biases, and the point is recognizing that you have stereotypes-- as everyone does-- and implicit bias is about recognizing them in yourself.
Kennedy: "Doesn't the person judging me have his own implicit bias? . . . If you say somebody has implicit bias, that's a pejorative judgement. . . So if everybody has implicit bias....who wins?"
Garland: "What I mean by systemic racism is the patterns of discriminatory treatment, not intentional bias on the part of any particular individuals."
I think Garland could've explained it much better, but he was clearly flustered by Kennedy lobbing these large, slightly different questions at him one after another. You can't give a course on the nature of systemic racism in five minutes.