Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has given her first major speech directed at specific poilicies since announcing her run for President in the 2016 election.
This time, she spoke at Columbia University and focused on the issues of race and criminal justice.
I watched live and was AMAZED at how blunt and honestly Mrs. Clinton spoke about such important topics.
She started off by addressing the situation in Baltimore, saying:
“Yet again, the family of a young black man is grieving…” (in regards to Freddie Gray)
She is clearly aware that incidents like the killing of that young man in Baltimore are not isolated events, adding,
“From Ferguson to Staten Island to Baltimore, the patterns have become unmistakable and uneniable.”
This is a huge point. Recognizing these killings as part of ?larger problem and pattern relating to police violence and racism are important truths to realize if we hope to come together to create change.
She spoke using key terms to reiterate the sad killings of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Walter Scott and more. She repeated harsh facts, like how Scott was shot in the back and how Rice was only 12 years old. She also kept repeating the word “unarmed.”
She says her emotions regarding this issue don’t come just from her being a mother and grandmother, but as a human being. She noted how we have to come to terms with
“hard truths about race and justice.”
I AGREE! The way she spoke honestly about the history and patterns causing these issues is another thing I applaud from her.
Hillary?gave quite a lot of facts to prove the point about disparities. She talked about how much more likely it is for blacks to fall victim to the criminal justice system. She discussed politically being against the big disparities in crack and powdered cocaine, which had negatively and disproportinately affected people of color.
She also mentioned the problems of pre-teens being put in adult prisons, and the toll that?being imprisoned puts on families, especially for those who are constantly jailed for non-violent drug offenses. She wants smarter policies to address these issues and doesn’t think simply imprisoning people who use and abuse drugs is a good route that the United States should continue to take. She uttered the phrase “one and a half million missing African-American men” and how this has greatly broken up families and caused harm. This phrase puts at the forefront the problem that the justice system has had specifically on black men. This is something many activists have been trying to get on the national stage and rally the media around.
Specifically, she doesn’t like the over-militarization of the police. She?called much of what the police now utilize “weapons of war” and said “they have NO place on our streets.” This is similar to the calls many activists have been having across the nation as we have seen historic images of police with tanks and riot gear approaching peaceful protestors.
Hillary also talked a lot about income gaps and lack of economic opportunities in relation to how this has created and perpetuated violence and incarceration and the problems we see today. She brought up a story she read today in the newspaper about different neighborhoods, only 6 miles from each other in Baltimore, where the average life expectancy is 20 years apart. It was clear that Mrs. Clinton thinks these disparities need to be addressed and that we must work together to help fix this.
Mrs. Clinton, almost stunningly, gave some praise to Rand Paul. She grouped him with other politicians when talking about working across party lines on the issue of crime and justice. Praising the “other side” seems so rare nowadays, especiailly when they are running against you for President. Not to mention that Rand Paul has had very harsh things to say about Hillary in recent weeks.
Hillary condemned the violence and destruction we have seen in Baltimore, and?said?that we need to have?respect FOR the law, but how we ALSO need?a society where everyone is?equally respected “BY the law.” Mrs. Clinton called the killing of Freddie Gray “unnecessary,” which I really thought was a good moment. Why sugar coat these continued cop killings? We need to describe them accurately and not let cops off of the hook.
Mrs. Clinton also brought up mental health and said?that this also?needs to be a national issue.
“Our prisons and jails are now our mental institutions.”
This was a great point for Hillary to make, as many of our population who suffer mental illness are stuck in prison. This is not an economically or morally just policy for those who?need real help and attention.
Clinton’s overall theme seemed to be that we need a lot of different policies and changes regarding crime and justice. She said we need to confront our racism and discriminatory ways and we need to restore respect, while noting that a lot of this has been caused by our discriminatory policies. She ?described this as us needing to replenish our “depleted reservoirs of trust.” This was such an eloquent way of stating the plight that many communities, especially those?of color, have suffered because of the continuing harassment, abuse, and killings they have bore witness to.
I think this was a tremendous speech from Mrs. Clinton. I hope these issues will be at the forefront of the Presidential election. While I support Hillary personally, I hope that we can truly start to see the difference between her and the Republican candidates, and adequately understand who would be a better President on justice and the issues we care about.
She does not have a perfect record, but every politician could do more and so could every person criticizing. Hillary does, though, have a record of fighting for families and prisoners and I hope people will realize the positives she has done (advocating after law school, supporting more fair sentencing, etc) and compare her work to the candidates she will be up against in the 2016 election.
Watch highlights from the speech here:
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