Black Lives Matter: Arkansas senator describes slavery as 'necessary evil'

Tom Cotton's opinion piece for the New York Times caused outrage

A senator for the state of Arkansas has described slavery as a "necessary evil" on which the American nation was built.

In a local newspaper interview, Republican Tom Cotton said he rejected the idea that the US was a systemically racist country to its core.

He is introducing legislation to ban federal funds for a project by the New York Times newspaper, aimed at revising the historical view of slavery.

The project's founder expressed outrage at the remarks.

This comes amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. The death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minnesota in May sparked huge protests across the US against police brutality and racism.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53550882