If you’re a Black Lives Matter supporter, I urge you to consider whether or not Hillary Clinton can be a principled champion for the cause.
In late February, Clinton hosted a private fundraiser in Charleston, South Carolina, where it cost $500 minimum to attend. An African-American activist named Ashley Williams paid to hear what Hillary Clinton had to say about criminal justice reform in the country, be it her stance on ending mass incarcerations or private prisons.
She interrupted Clinton, asking about the “super-predator” language Clinton used to label youth gangs while advocating for former President Bill Clinton’s “tough-on-crime, long-on-incarceration” 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act bill, and whether Hillary wished to apologize “to black people for mass incarceration.” After all, African-Americans constitute roughly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population in the United States indirectly today thanks to this bill.
Despite being visibly irritated, Clinton never answered the question of how she came to her 2016 stances on criminal justice reforms.
At the end of the day, the young activist was removed by the Secret Service. What shocked me was how dismissive of Williams Clinton was when Clinton said, “Let’s get back to the real issues.”
What a waste of $500. From this single dismissive comment alone, she has showed she doesn’t care for the Black Lives Matter cause, that black lives in this country inherently don’t matter. It speaks volumes of her character and seriousness to listen to what activists like Williams has to say about the state of our justice system and how to best address it, barring her prison lobbyist donation acceptances last year.
After all, one can say that it is indirectly thanks to Hillary the state of mass incarceration exists the way you see today, due to her heavy public support on Bill’s bill back as First Lady.
The reforms banned those convicted of drug crimes from many post-prison rehab programs, like federal student loans, meant to reintegrate offenders back into American society, and it advocated for long, mandatory prison terms. The number of people in American prisons rose 60 percent by the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency, which disproportionately represents a hefty amount of minority groups.
For Black Lives Matter supporters, hearing two Democratic candidates argue in favor of revamping criminal justice this election cycle is a refreshing relief, because it should mean that the voices of black lives in this country are also being heard.
But, unfortunately, Clinton seems to only be courting Black Lives Matter supporters because it is politically expedient to do so. This compared to Bernie Sanders, who has long championed equality and justice for African-Americans for decades and has met privately with the families of Eric Gardner and Sandra Bland, both of whom are victims in a long series of questionable police action.
If I were to opt to seek a candidate who cares enough to see real change with criminal justice and how we can improve law enforcement in this country, I would want to vote for someone who supports the Black Lives Matter movement on principle.
Asad Uddin is a senior public policy leadership major from Oxford.
