Rashad Robinson issued the following statement:

“During tonight’s debate, despite the submission of thousands of questions about the country’s current policing crisis, moderator Megyn Kelly asked only two questions about discriminatory policing and race relations. Both of the candidate’s responses were woefully disappointing. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker spoke to better police training and accountability, but failed to commit to a single policy reform. Ben Carson — the only Black candidate on stage — responded with dangerous rhetoric centered around his so-called “colorblindness” implying that any discussion of race is divisive.

“Tonight’s debate illuminated what millions of Black people and our allies already know to be true: Republicans are running yet another election based off of race-baiting and fear-mongering. Everything the candidates proposed tonight represents policies and ideologies that are bad from Black people.

“Before the debate, polls suggested that criminal justice issues were amongst some of the least likely topics to be discussed. But following the pressure of 9 billboards surrounding the convention center and more than 1,500 members who tweeted at moderator Megyn Kelly urging her to ask candidates about Black people killed by police, we saw a short portion of the conversation speak to the crisis of systemic racism targeting Black communities.