Clinton Speaks at the National Urban League Conference

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.

Update (8/5/2015): Posted video from the event.

News Source: The New York Times, Time

Clinton Talks Race in Missouri

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.

Hillary in Florissant, Missouri today: pic.twitter.com/9HlQf4F56n

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 23, 2015

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.

News Source: CNN

Clinton Returns to California for Fundraisers

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.”

Follow Clinton and the campaign on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Variety, The Washington Post

Image Source: The Washington Post

Clinton Releases Cuba Statement

Today, President Barack Obama announced that the United States and Cuba would begin to exchange in normal diplomatic relations and that he would push for further reform of the US-Cuba policy. With the news came the release of prisoners in Cuba and the return of prisoners to Cuba. This included the release of Alan Gross, who had been imprisoned for five years.

While this move has been met with with some criticism, it is something that Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for. In her book, Hard Choices, Clinton called for an updated strategy in regard to Cuba. She released a statement tonight supporting this move stating:

“I am deeply relieved by Alan Gross’s safe return to the United States, and I support President Obama’s decision to change course on Cuba policy, while keeping the focus on our principal objective — supporting the aspirations of the Cuban people for freedom. It is great news that Alan is finally home with his family, where he belongs.

As secretary of state, I pushed for his release, stayed in touch with Alan’s wife, Judy, and their daughters, and called for a new direction in Cuba. Despite good intentions, our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power.

As I have said, the best way to bring change to Cuba is to expose its people to the values, information, and material comforts of the outside world. The goal of increased U.S. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the Cuban people. And the other nations of the Americas should join us in this effort.”

News and Image Source: Politico