PHILADELPHIA — “Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say black lives matter,” said Lucia McBath at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night.
McBath was part of a group of women whose children died as a result of gun violence or interactions with the police. Called Mothers of the Movement, they raised their voices on behalf of Clinton at the convention.
After being greeted by a long standing ovation, the mother of Sandra Bland, a woman who died while in police custody, told the delegates, “So many of our children are gone, but they are not forgotten.”
Geneva Reed-Veal added, “I am here with Hillary Clinton tonight because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children’s name. She knows that when a young black life is cut short it’s not just a loss, it’s not just a personal loss, it’s a national loss. It’s a loss that diminishes all of us.”
Clinton first met with the Mothers of the Movement early on in the campaign cycle, and has since met with the group multiple times and even brought them along on the campaign trail with her.
“Not only is she listening to our problems,” McBath, the mother of slain teen Jordan Dais, said, “she invited us to become apart of the solution, and that’s what were going to do.”
McBath described most policemen as “good, hardworking” people, but said there needs to be change.
“Hillary Clinton has the compassion and understanding to support grieving mothers. She has the courage to fight for common-sense gun legislation,” said Trayvon Martin’s mother. “[T]his isn’t about being politically correct. This is about saving our children.”
