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Friday, March 29, 2024

African-American leaders pledge support for Clinton ahead of May primary

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As the May 3 Indiana primary swiftly approaches, candidates are hard at work rallying last-minute support in the Hoosier state. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who, by most accounts, is in a better position this time around than she was in the 2008 presidential campaign, has received endorsements from several local leaders.

While Clinton made rounds in Mishawaka and Gary, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, stopped by her campaign headquarters in Indianapolis. Congressman Andre Carson, D-Ind., who publicly announced his support of Clinton back in July of 2015, joined Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett at Clinton’s northwest-side office to introduce the past commander in chief.

Preceding a policy-laden speech by the past POTUS, Hogsett energized the crowd with remarks on Hillary Clinton breaking glass ceilings and potentially making history as America’s first-ever female president.

Last week, Congressman Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., met with some of the city’s top political and civic leaders at an event at Kennedy-King Memorial Park to launch African-Americans for Hillary, a grassroots initiative aimed at earning Clinton the Democratic nomination and ultimately the presidency. In attendance were Cordelia Lewis-Burks, vice chair of the Indiana Democratic Party; City-County Councilors Rev. Stephen Clay and Leroy Robinson; and former state Sen. Billie Breaux, among others.

District 1 Councilman Leroy Robinson said that initially, the decision to endorse Clinton was a “tough one.”

“What Bernie Sanders brings is the issues that are really relevant to our community, whether it’s mass incarceration, Black Lives Matter, college tuition and, of course, breaking up the big banks, as well as campaign finance reform,” Robinson said. “Without (Sanders), I’m not sure all those issues would be out on the table. So yeah, it was tough. The issue is that the only solutions he offers for those areas I just mentioned are very unattainable and unrealistic.” Robinson said Clinton’s experience is what sets her apart in his mind as the most viable candidate.

“Hillary has the most experience by far, and she is the most qualified. She is the most tested, and she has the best foreign policy experience, the best legislative experience and the most White House experience. Most importantly, she’s a woman, so she’s smarter than everyone else,” said Robinson.

The argument over Clinton’s political experience versus Sanders’ is, for some, a peculiar debate given the facts. Sanders has served as an elected official for a total of 34 years, 12 more than Clinton, only if you include her years as the first lady of Arkansas and of the United States.

Another source of debate stems from Clinton’s interactions with marginalized communities. She has been accused of being dismissive of Black Lives Matter activists and disingenuous with her support of the LGBTQ community. Her appearances at BET’s Black Girls Rock awards ceremony and popular radio show The Breakfast Club (where she playfully disclosed her love of hot sauce) were, to some, another round of pitiful attempts at pandering to Black audiences.

Authors Michelle Alexander and Sista Souljah have both spoken out against Clinton’s campaign tactics. In a piece for The Nation titled “Why Hillary Clinton doesn’t deserve the Black vote,” Alexander asked rhetorically, “What have the Clintons done to earn such devotion?” Souljah scathingly referred to Clinton as “the slave plantation white wife of the white master,” in an interview with Time magazine.

Of the many criticisms prominent Black voices, such as Alexander and Souljah, have of Clinton, the most consistent critique stems from her support of the infamous 1994 crime bill, which many believe led to mass incarceration of people of color for nonviolent offenses.

“The crime bill came along at a time when Black people were upset about drugs in their community. I voted for the crime bill, Hillary supported it, Bill Clinton signed it, but Bernie Sanders voted for it, too,” Clyburn said. “I don’t understand how people can hold this against Hillary, but it’s OK for Bernie to vote for it. There’s something not quite right about that.”

Recently, former President Clinton has attempted to right his perceived wrong by renouncing the 1994 bill.

“The best way to tell what a person will do is to look at what they have done. Look at Hillary’s record,” said Clyburn, referencing her first job out of law school with the Children’s Defense Fund in South Carolina as a key highlight; health care reform was another.

“The whipping she took in ‘93 over health care reform, no one else has those scars. I need to see the scars; what is it that you’ve taken scars for? I always say, show me a person that hasn’t been criticized, and I’m going to show you one that’s never done anything,” Clyburn said.

If Clinton bests her competition, Clyburn believes it will be not only a political victory, but a catalyst for change in the future of all women, particularly those of color, across the country. “If she were elected in November, I think the future for my daughters and granddaughters will be as bright as it’s ever been, because I believe the next thing I’m going to see is an African-American woman sitting on the Supreme Court. (Clinton) knows that’s the price for my support and a lot of other African-Americans’ as well,” he said. “I believe if she is elected she will build upon Barack Obama’s legacy in a way that no one else can, because she will carry into that office a set of experiences that no one else has.”

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