The Mothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers who lost children to gun violence, some at the hands of police, delivered a moving tribute to their children and an enthusiastic endorsement of Clinton.
Advertisement
“I am proud tonight to introduce a group of women profoundly impacted by injustice and violence, who have turned their pain into power and their outrage into action”.
The movement for black lives may not depend on politicians, but Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybina Fulton, has a message about electing Hillary Clinton in November: “This isn’t about being politically correct”.
Speaking last, Fulton – the mother of Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by George Zimmerman in 2012 only to see her son’s killer walk – said, “I am an unwilling participant in this movement”.
Lucia McBath, whose 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was shot and killed after playing loud music in his auto, also spoke.
Tony said that Hillary claims that “we can’t hide from the hard truths” and she will help America “name them, own them and then change them”. “It has to be dealt with”. “Our communities and our families will never be safe unless we deal with gun violence in this country”. “Don’t wait until tragedy knocks on your door”, Carr said in the segment, which also addressed violence against police. She knows that when a young, black life is cut short, it’s not just a loss.
“So many of our children are gone, but they are not forgotten”, she said.
“The majority of police officers are good people doing a good job”, McBath said, adding that mothers will use their voices and their votes to ensure leaders such as Clinton are elected so “that this club of heartbroken mothers stops growing”.
During the course of the primary campaign, Ms Clinton shared stages with the women. Davis was killed at a gas station by a stranger, Michael David Dunn, after an argument about loud music. “Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to be a part of the solution”.
But Shandre Delaney, a 57-year-old protester from Pittsburgh, said she was more interested in hearing about Hillary Clinton’s policy proposals to demilitarize police departments and end mass incarceration.
The 18-year-old who was killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson.
Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon Martin was fatally shot during a struggle with a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012, used the stage to call for gun control, saying that Clinton, “has the courage to lead the fight for common sense gun legislation”, as well as “a plan to fix the divide that so often exists between law enforcement and the communities they serve”. Martin continued that Clinton “has the courage to lead the fight for common sense gun legislation”. Her son is the reason why black man are afraid to eat Skittles and wear hoodies.
Democrats balanced the mothers with two law enforcement officials spelling out the importance of police in society, as well as the inequities that often face racial and ethnic minorities.
Advertisement
Mothers Gwen Carr, Sybrina Fulton, Lucia McBath, Lesley McSpadden, Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, Maria Hamilton, and Geneva Reed-Veal all showed their solidarity with the movement and with Clinton.
