On Friday, Hillary Rodham Clinton sat down with activists, including members of Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero, to discuss racism and race relations in America. For an hour in Washington DC, Clinton and the group of activists discussed a wide variety of issues affecting the black community including police brutality, violence against black members of the LGBT community, and the prison system. Participants in the meeting said that Clinton provided a few specific proposals, but Clinton said that she is planning to release detailed plans to address racial injustice soon. Many of the activists were encouraged by the meeting, but others waiting to hear specifics of her platform.
Racism is America's original sin. To those I met with today, thank you for sharing your ideas. -H https://t.co/ICqYepExxB
Last Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton met with three members of Black Lives Matter following an event in New Hampshire. The conversation has been described as tense, but it was a frank conversation about race in America and the struggles to understand what can be done about it. While the event was held behind closed doors, a two-part video of the conversation was posted online, and the videos are available below.
Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on Reverend Al Sharpton’s radio show “Keepin’ it Real”. She was interviewed by Sharpton and the conversation primarily focused on race and the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which the Supreme Court gutted in 2014. Clinton expressed her concern over those who have attacked the Voting Right Act saying that Congress needed to renew the act to protect voting rights for everyone.
Clinton and Sharpton went on to discuss race and justice pointing to recent police brutality against African-American suspects. But she also addressed prison population saying, “I know that this is a serious problem, but it falls disproportionately on the African American community.” Sharpton asked if Clinton was planning to watch this evening Republican debate on Fox News. She responded, “I don’t think I need to watch it to know that nearly everybody standing on that stage, in the first or the second debate, has either actively sought to limit the right to vote in their states or supported the efforts to limit the right to vote if the were not governors but were in the Congress.”
Audio or video from the event is currently unavailable; however, a number of clips from Clinton’s interview were aired during Sharpton’s MSNBC show “Politics Nation.” A video from last night’s episode is below.
Tomorrow, Clinton continues the private fundraiser streak by attended events in California and Texas. Follow along with Clinton on the campaign trail on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was interviewed for a “Chair Chat,” an online series hosted by South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman, Jaime Harrison. In the interview, Clinton was asked about a number of non-political topics including her granddaughter and her favorite TV shows. But a number of political topics were covered as well including race, education, and income inequality. The interview was filed on July 23 and published August 3, and the full video of the interview is above.
Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at the National Urban League Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Clinton spoke to a group of African-American leaders right before Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, and she took full advantage of it. While she did not mention him by name, she called out his record on race relations by calling out his campaign slogan and PAC, “Right to Rise.” Clinton said, “People can’t rise if they can’t afford health care. They can’t rise if the minimum wage is too low to live on. They can’t rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education.”
She also spoke about the excessive use of force by law enforcement when confronting African-American suspects, and the continued issue of race discrimination saying, “We can’t go on like this. We are better than this. Things must change.” The full video of Clinton’s speech is below.
Hillary Rodham Clinton attended a gathering of 400 Democrats in Columbia, South Carolina. Many of those in attendance were mayors from throughout the state. In her comments at the event, she defended Planned Parenthood and spoke about racial inequality. Clinton said, “We have to also acknowledge we have some serious problems with race and justice and systemic racism which unfortunately is all too often present.”
A video from the event is not currently available and will be posted when/if available.
Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke about race relations in the United States at an event held at the Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri. She praised the actions of South Carolina leaders to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol building, but admitted that there is more work to be done, and removing the flag is only a small step in addressing racial inequality.
Clinton’s comments come just days after white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine men and women at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Her remarks were made a few miles from Ferguson, a city that has seen racial tensions since the 2014 shooting of an African American teen by local police. Similar events have taken place around the country sparking outrage and riots. Clinton admitted that work needs to be done saying, “We can’t hide from hard truths about race and justice, we have to name them, and own them, and change them.”
A full video from today’s event is available on C-SPAN.
Clinton is scheduled to be in Virginia and Philadelphia on Friday. Until then, follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Last week, Hillary Rodham Clinton attended events in San Francisco and Los Angeles. On Friday, she attended three fundraisers in Hollywood that were attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, Dustin Lance Black, Elizabeth Banks, Howard Gordon, and Bruce Cohen. The events took place at the homes of HBO’s Michael Lombardo and actor Tobey Maguire. Earlier in the day, Clinton also attended a fundraiser at the home of Westfield Corp co-CEO Peter Lowy. She is reported to have addressed a number of issues, including the recent shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church. All three events were closed to the press.
Saturday, Clinton addressed the The US Conference of Mayors where she called for stronger gun restrictions following the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. She acknowledged that there is still work to be done with regard to race relations. She said, “Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America’s long struggle with race is far from finished. I know this is a difficult topic to talk about. I know that so many of us hoped by electing our first black president, we had turned the page on this chapter in our history. I know there are truths we do not like to say out loud or discus with our children. But we have to.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton took part in the 10th annual Massachusetts Conference for Women. As the keynote speaker for the luncheon, she spoke about a variety topics and praised voters for requiring employers to offer paid sick leave. Clinton also briefly spoke about the issues of race and justice in wake of the decisions in the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Clinton spoke primarily about the advancement of women saying, “Too many women here and around the world still face ceilings that hold them down, that make it harder for them to pursue their own God-given potential.”
A video for this event is not currently available and one will be posted when/if available.
On Friday, Hillary Rodham Clinton sat down with activists, including members of Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero, to discuss racism and race relations in America. For an hour in Washington DC, Clinton and the group of activists discussed a wide variety of issues affecting the black community including police brutality, violence against black members of the LGBT community, and the prison system. Participants in the meeting said that Clinton provided a few specific proposals, but Clinton said that she is planning to release detailed plans to address racial injustice soon. Many of the activists were encouraged by the meeting, but others waiting to hear specifics of her platform.
Hillary Clinton Speeches 