Here, have an upvote for participation.
Technically you are correct, a member of any race can be racist, but in the United States, Black people are more likely to be the victims of racism than the perpetrators. So when you are asked if your rhetoric contributes to a climate of a "hate and racial strife", telling an audience of people you can't see, and an African-American moderator that you are the last racist person in the room is an insane kind of thing to do.