Justice Sonia Sotomayor once wrote that “[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race.” During the recent Michael Cohen hearing, the “racist” label flew back and forth during a heated interchange between Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Mark Meadows. As our own profession struggles with a diversity and inclusion crisis, there is much to learn from this interchange.

In sum, Cohen had testified that President Donald Trump is a racist. In an attempt to refute that allegation, Meadows produced Lynne Patton, a black woman and an official at the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development with a personal connection to the president and his family. While Patton stood silently beside him, Meadows indicated that she would not work for Trump if he was a racist. In response, Tlaib expressed frustration:

“Just because someone has a person of color, a black person working for them, does not mean they aren't racist. And it is insensitive … the fact that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman, in this chamber, in this committee, is alone, racist in itself.”