Sanders was in Minneapolis for “A Community Forum on Black America”. Sanders found out quickly that his income inequality speech alone isn't enough to address problems that the African American community faces.
Sanders had a rough time and his reply to one of the forum participants was very unfortunate. I understand the frustration he was under and the intense pressure of the questioning, but his reply was insensitive and seems to be talking down to the participants.
Sanders needed to have more patience here and not be so dismissive.
www.politico.com/…
And the crowd and the panel grew lukewarm on Sanders, saying his focus on economic inequality looks past the entrenched problems they face as African-Americans.
The tension quickly rose over his 40-minute appearance, with moderator Anthony Newby repeatedly calling for “specific redress.”
“I know you’re scared to say ‘black,’ I know you’re scared to say ‘reparations,’” said Felicia Perry, a local entrepreneur and artist on the stage. “Can’t you please specifically talk about black people?”
Sanders, who started off the forum running through his stump speech touching on “systemic racism,” unfair incarceration and education inequality, responded sharply to the charge.
“I said ‘black’ 50 times,” he said. “That’s the 51st time.”
But, Sanders said, the issues at hand are more about economics than race.
“It’s not just black,” he said. “It’s Latino. In some rural areas, it is white.”
www.citypages.com/...
At one point near the end of the discussion, one panelist faulted Sanders for speaking in generalities, and said he was "afraid to say the word black." Sanders disputed that claim in his response.
"I've said black 50 times," Sanders said. "That was the 51st time."
Another panelist picked up the same issue. “I know you're scared to say black, I know you're scared to say reparations," she said. "Can we please talk about black people and reparations?"
"You and I may have a disagreement on this, because it's not just black. It is Latinos, there are areas in America, in poor rural areas, where it's whites," he said.