Patrisse Cullors - Politico "Biden's convention embraced racial justice. BLM leaders saw it as mostly lip service."

Politico | August 22, 2020

“Joe Biden gave the floor to George Floyd's brothers and Eric Garner’s mother on the first night of his convention. On the third night, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke the words “Black lives matter,” and Kamala Harris bemoaned the damage done by “structural racism.”

The embrace of the movement against racial injustice was a dramatic shift from the party's last convention four years ago and did not go unnoticed by Black Lives Matter activists. But its leaders viewed the gestures as mostly lip service, without a real commitment to policy change: They want Biden to commit to defund the police and to crack down on misconduct by law enforcement.

‘It’s been unfortunate to not see the Democratic Party fully align themselves with the powerful work this movement has been doing,’ said Patrisse Cullors, who helped found the BLM movement in 2013 after the killing of Trayvon Martin.

The disappointment underscores the persistent divide between Biden's campaign and many BLM activists, even as they present a united front to oust President Donald Trump. It also showcases the careful line Democrats are attempting to walk: While the BLM movement has gone mainstream, most Americans tell pollsters they don’t support withholding money for police.”

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