Black Lives Matter has gone bipartisan.
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It wasn’t until the final third of that speech – when Bush fielded a smattering of questions on immigration policy and recent, high-profile police shootings – that some in that audience appeared to turn on the former Florida governor, interrupting his answers to some questions and vocally disapproving of his response to others.
Bush said “these problems have gotten worse in the last few years” and that communities “no longer trust the basic institutions in our society that they need to trust”. He said racism is eating away at the fiber of the U.S., and that white America views black America as menacing.
The former governor addressed the National Urban League conference last month and focused on improving education and particularly expanding school choice as a key step to improving racial inequality.
“A child that is educated, that believes that there are chances of going to college and living a life of goal and meaning is important”, he said.
Bush faced criticism from the Black Lives Matter movement when he defended Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley for telling protesters that “all lives matter”.
Over the weekend, “Black Lives Matter” protesters also shut down an appearance from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Video of Bush taking questions can be seen here. “What about today?” Hall said later. An AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, was the scene of a mass shooting in June in which nine black people died.
But at that point, Bush didn’t give his typical closing statement and began shaking hands and exiting the room – and that’s when the “black lives matter” chanting took the spotlight, CNN reported.
The event was held at the Pearson Community Center in North Las Vegas, a predominantly Black community.
He said growing the economy is the best way to reduce the nation’s debt and deficit, while criticizing President Barack Obama for his support of a nuclear arms deal with Iran.
“Are we so uptight and so politically correct now that we apologize for saying ‘lives matter?’ Life is precious”, Bush said in Gorham, New Hampshire.
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“When my son steps out every day, I don’t know if he’s gonna step back in because of racial tension”, one woman says, before asking, “How do you relate to that?”
