Yes, #BlackLivesMatter
Hillary Clinton was taking questions and answers on Facebook this afternoon and one of the questions came from Wesley Lowery, reporter for the
Washington Post. His question hit upon one of the hottest topics
among progressives:
You chose not to speak at Netroots Nation this weekend, two of your Democratic primary rivals did -- both were interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters, who asked: "As the leader of this nation, will you advance a racial justice agenda that will dismantle -- not reform, not make progress -- but will begin to dismantle structural racism in the United States?"
How would you have answered?
Hillary Clinton's response below:
Black lives matter. Everyone in this country should stand firmly behind that. We need to acknowledge some hard truths about race and justice in this country, and one of those hard truths is that that racial inequality is not merely a symptom of economic inequality. Black people across America still experience racism every day. Since this campaign started, I've been talking about the work we must do to address the systemic inequities that persist in education, in economic opportunity, in our justice system. But we have to do more than talk - we have to take action. For example - we should make sure every police department in the US has body cameras. We should provide alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders. We should invest in early childhood education for every child. We should fight for voting rights and universal voter registration. You will continue to hear me talking about these issues throughout this campaign and pushing for real solutions. -H
Although there is a tremendous amount of debate happening in the world of progressive activists about the #BlackLivesMatter protests at the conference over the weekend, there can be no denying they have elevated this debate to an unprecedented level. Hillary Clinton is making statements like the one above. The day after Bernie Sanders was criticized for his response to protesters, he
said her name:
However, no reference to Texas drew longer and louder applause than when Sanders mentioned Sandra Bland, a young black woman found dead last week in a jail cell in Waller County, about an hour north of Houston. Sanders, who was interrupted at a forumSaturday in Phoenix by activists angered by police brutality, brought up Bland while listing other African Americans who have recently died in police custody.
“It is unacceptable that police officers beat up people or kill people," Sanders said in Houston. "If they do that, they have got to be held accountable.”
Martin O'Malley caused the entire room to grumble when he responded, "All lives matter." Nevertheless, he took the time afterward to
meet with #BlackLivesMatter activists and apologize live on
This Week in Blackness.
Their tenacious, relentless protesting means that real criminal justice reform will be a topic that no presidential candidate will be able to skirt if he or she wants to have any serious chance for the nomination or the White House.