“But what I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn’t love and have faith in them, and that’s our legacy.”

Rice said her own father, grandmother and great-grandmother had endured “terrible humiliations”.

While many blacks called themselves African American, Rice said they should not be looked at as immigrants.

“We don’t mimic the immigrant story. Where this conversation has got to go is that black Americans and white Americans founded this country together and I think we’ve always wanted the same thing,” she said.

Later on Friday, when asked what Americans had learned about race since the civil rights movement, Rice told reporters: “You have to work hard every day to make the extraordinary, moving and inspirational words of our founding documents a reality for all Americans.”

Earlier this week, Rice addressed a conservative lobbying group in Washington, stoking fresh talk she might be interested in becoming McCain’s running mate. Rice told The Washington Times again that she was “not interested” in the vice presidential job and she planned to return to her California home when the Bush administration ends in January 2009.