President Joe Biden cited mixed-race couples in advertising as evidence that Americans were growing less racist as a society in a speech on Tuesday.
The president spoke about race at a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Greenwood race riots.
Biden cited his hope in future generations who, he said, were the “best-educated” and “least prejudiced” on issues of race.
“Those of you were over 50 how often did you ever see advertisements on television with black and white couples?” Biden asked. “Not a joke.”
Biden claimed that if you watched television for two hours, you would see two to three out of five advertisements representing mixed-race couples.
“That’s not by accident,” he said. “They’re selling soap, man. Not a joke.”
Biden cited the late pollster Patrick Cadell, who once said that watching advertising could help anyone understand the current state of American culture.
“Because they want to sell what they have,” he said, referring to the corporations.
The president previously cited his observation about mixed-race couples in advertising in February, during a CNN town hall.
“I’m going to say something’s going to get me in trouble … and that is that, think about it. If you want to know where the American public is, look at the money being spent in advertising,” he said to anchor Anderson Cooper. “Did you ever, five years ago, think every second or third ad out of five or six you’d turn on would be biracial couples? No, no, I’m not being facetious. The reason I’m so hopeful is this new generation. They’re not like us. They’re thinking differently.”