As the United States continues its national conversation over race and racism which got jumpstarted with the May 25 murder of George Floyd, the socially informed black comedian W. Kamau Bell offered his perspective on racism in America.

Americans have been increasingly focused on racial justice since the murder of the murder of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn., gave new life to the Black Lives Matter movement with protests in the nation’s streets.

“We start by saying America is built on white supremacy, that the whole history of this country started on genocide and slavery and everything was built on top of that and to make sure the people who created the genocide and slavery that them and all their descendants could benefit from it,” Bell said during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Bell said that his education on racism in the United States began early in his childhood.

“I had a joke in my act where I said my mom was such a hard core black woman that I was 11 years old before I realized a cracker was also a delicious snack,” Bell added. “My mom was always talking about racism and white supremacy and in the ‘70s it was ‘The man.’ And she didn’t shy away talking to me about this.”

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