Politics

Hillary: Even Open-Minded Whites Get Nervous Around Blacks In Hoodies [VIDEO]

Patrick Howley Political Reporter
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Thursday that even “open-minded” white people get nervous when they encounter a black male wearing a hoodie.

Clinton used almost the same verbal construction last month at a speech in San Francisco when she said, “For a lot of well-meaning, open-minded white people, the sight of a young black man in a hoodie still evokes a twinge of fear.”

Clinton said in a Thursday speech that “Black Lives Matter,” capping a concerted effort to appeal to the black protest movement after harsh criticism of her words and actions from the protesters.

“And that’s why I think it is essential that we all stand up and say loudly and clearly, ‘Yes, black lives matter,'” Clinton said at South Carolina’s Brookland Baptist Church. “And we all have a responsibility to face these hard truths of race and justice honestly and directly.”

Clinton has been under fire from Black Lives Matter protesters.

“I heard a lot of things. And nothing directly about black folk,” protest organizer Deray Mckesson wrote on Twitter after he snubbed an invitation from the Clinton campaign to attend a Clinton speech. “Coded language won’t cut it.’”

“We’ve witnessed the deaths of black people — Eric Garner, John Crawford, Tamir Rice — and witnessed their killers not be indicted or held accountable for their violence,” Black Lives Matter protester Zellie Imani recently said. “[The] majority of patrol cars have dash cameras, cameras that capture police brutality, and they are still not indicted or convicted. Body cams cannot end police brutality, and neither can Hillary.”

Clinton drew criticism last month for using the term “All Lives Matter,” instead of the black-specific term “Black Lives Matter,” while speaking in Missouri.

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