Article snippet: After a night of few fireworks Wednesday, tension over the issues of race boiled over to the forefront during Thursday night’s Democratic primary debate. Senator Kamala Harris challenged former vice president Joe Biden over his record on civil rights issues in the Senate in the 1970s. “I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,” she said. “It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two US senators who built their reputation and career on the segregation of race in this country.” Harris accused Biden of working to oppose the busing of African American students to racially segregated schools in the 1970s. “There was a little girl in California that was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me. So I will tell you that on this subject it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats,” she said. It’s an issue that has dogged the 76-year-old Biden through much of the primary campaign. The Washington Post in March unearthed a 1975 interview in which Biden criticized the concept of busing, calling it a quota system that is “the most racist concept you could come up with.” But Biden called Harris’ attack a “mischaracterization” of his stances “across the board.” Getting in his own dig at Harris, who worked as a prosecutor, he highlighted his experience as a public defender. “I came out, and le... Link to the full article to read more