WATCH–Kirsten Gillibrand: My Son’s ‘Whiteness Is What Protects Him’

Democrat presidential hopeful Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) spoke with reporters and further expounded on her argument about white privilege after the Democrat primary presidential debate in Detroit on Wednesday.

“We have a real challenge in this country with deep, systemic, and institutional racism,” Gillibrand told Breitbart News when asked to further explain the remarks she made from the debate stage.

“It pervades all aspects of society, whether you’re talking about healthcare where our maternal mortality rate is as high as it is, especially for black women, four times higher, or education,” Gillibrand continued.

Gillibrand then discussed student debt, claiming women of color have to “borrow more” and do not “get paid equally.”

“Student debt is very high for people of color, particularly women of color, ’cause not only do they have to borrow more, but then they don’t get paid equally, so it’s harder to pay back,” Gillibrand said.

The New York senator went on to list “criminal justice,” and economic issues where she sees people of color suffering the most. Gillibrand also  stated the importance of black-owned businesses and “making sure that communities of color can thrive.”

“The issue of white privilege is the absence of that constant, chronic, systemic racism that happens everyday,” Gillibrand said before using her son in an example to outline her definition of white privilege.

“My son, who’s white, if he breaks down in a car and knocks on a door for help, most people will help him,” Gillibrand claimed. “If my son was black and knocked on that door, he might be shot. His whiteness is what protects him. That’s all that white privilege is.”