Politics

Officials compare Russian journalists to segregated African Americans under Jim Crow

Russian government officials compared State Department treatment of Russian journalists to U.S. treatment of African Americans during the Jim Crow-era.

"Literally several decades ago, people with different skin color were not allowed to ride on the same bus in the United States," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday, according to Russian news outlet Tass. "It is necessary to overcome that instead of returning to the flawed practice of the early 19th century, dividing journalists into countries and nationalities. You have no right to deny them access to information due to their nationality."

Jim Crow laws allowed for segregation of African Americans from the late 1800s through the civil rights movement which began in the 1950s. It would take several decades for segregationist practices to end.

Zakharova was responding to a report that State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert rejected a question from a Russian reporter during a press briefing. A request for comment from the State Department for confirmation was not immediately answered.

Zakharova also threatened that Russia could retaliate by allocating special seats for U.S. journalists.