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"It's a Bittersweet Time": Some Sanders Backers Stay Inside DNC, Now Plan to Support Hillary Clinton
As Hillary Clinton secured the party’s presidential nomination Tuesday night, Democracy Now! was on the floor of the convention speaking to delegates and political leaders from around the country who formerly backed Bernie Sanders and now plan to support Clinton, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Jesús "Chuy" García, former Chicago mayoral candidate. "This is really not necessarily about the individual," says Carol Ammons, an Illinois state representative who introduced Sanders when he spoke in her district. "It is truly about the ideas."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. This is "Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency." We’re broadcasting from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, as Hillary Clinton secured the party’s presidential nomination last night, Democracy Now! was on the floor of the convention speaking to delegates and political leaders from around the country. I had a chance to speak to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and others.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: What’s your sense of Bernie’s speech last night and what you’re hoping to come out of tonight?
RICHARD TRUMKA: I thought it was a great speech. It was a great unifying speech, a great progressive speech. He’s had a tremendous influence on the platform. He’s had a tremendous influence on the direction of the party. I take my hats off to him. He’s a good friend. But right now we’ve got one job to do. That’s elect Hillary Clinton president and beat Donald Trump. He would be a disaster for this country.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And the narrative that’s being created that Trump is going to win more and more of the white working class, as a labor leader, what do you think about that?
RICHARD TRUMKA: I think it’s preposterous. I think the only votes he’s going to get, he’s already got. We’re going to get the votes. We’re going to win big in the labor movement, win big in working America, and Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United states.
PETER BUCKLAND: My name is Peter Buckland.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And where are you from?
PETER BUCKLAND: State College, Pennsylvania.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you’re a Clinton or Sanders supporter?
PETER BUCKLAND: I’m a Sanders delegate.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And do you think he captured basically the achievements of the Bernie supporters and of his movement in the speech?
PETER BUCKLAND: Yes, I do think that he did. Of course, there are things that kind of—that don’t quite make it in, because of the differences in the platform. And I think that he played it kind of safe, so that we were—so that he could focus on the unity of the party. And, you know, now the job is on us. I’m a local elected official, and so the job is on me, in part, to work with my community, to work with people in Pennsylvania, to enact a kind of platform that works for people, works for our—and works for our environment.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And are you going to be voting for Hillary Clinton or what?
PETER BUCKLAND: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’m here with Gil Cedillo, a city councilman from Los Angeles and a Bernie Sanders—
COUNCILMEMBER GIL CEDILLO: Yes.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —supporter, the first Latino elected official in L.A. to back Sanders.
COUNCILMEMBER GIL CEDILLO: Correct.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And do you think his appeal for folks to rally behind Hillary Clinton will resonate with all of the Sanders supporters or most of them?
COUNCILMEMBER GIL CEDILLO: With most of them, there’s no doubt. You know, polls show her somewhere between 75 to 90 percent of his supporters. And I think with his work the last two days, which has been incredible, that will continue to make the progress we need. But I think he’s very clear that we cannot forget it’s not just about electing Senator Hillary Clinton and what that means for the history of this nation, first woman, but there really is this incredibly grave danger of Donald Trump, and a fascist, by definition, a divisive hatemonger who is so close to the presidency, that this is a threat not only to our nation, but to the world.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’m here with Chuy García, Cook County commissioner, former mayoral candidate in Chicago, also a Bernie Sanders delegate. Talk about, first, Bernie Sanders’ speech last night, what you thought about it, and where you think that the movement that you’ve been a part of is going to go from here on.
JESÚS "CHUY" GARCÍA: Does the revolution move forward with Donald Trump as president or with Hillary Clinton? And I think that’s what Bernie Sanders supporters have to decide. What will help us move forward, create momentum, continue to make gains, transform the Democratic Party further, bring it back to the people? And how do we make small donors the only way that politics should function, so there’s a level playing field in America for ordinary people who want to be legislators and mayors and the leaders of political and public institutions across the land? So it was an important speech. It came, of course, on the heels of Michelle Obama’s speech, which was also a fantastic speech that was rooted in history, in reality, in idealism, in what a great and strong nation we can become, if we are responsive to the needs of ordinary people and if we continue on the trajectory that has made us a country that can be more just to everyone in our society.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was Jesús "Chuy" García, Cook County commissioner, who ran for mayor of Chicago against Rahm Emanuel, and he’s a Bernie Sanders supporter who is now backing Hillary Clinton.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Juan, just as you came off the floor, I walked onto the floor, and it is a sea of thousands and thousands of people. Whoever was in front of me, I just held out that mic.
REP. CAROL AMMONS: My name is Carol Ammons. I’m a state rep from the great state of Illinois in the 103rd District, central Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. And I feel inspired by what I just witnessed here at this Democratic National Convention. I am honored to be here. This is my first time, but it is truly an honor.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you’re the first African American to be elected in central Illinois?
REP. CAROL AMMONS: Yes, I’m the first African American to be elected to state rep from central Illinois, the 103rd District.
AMY GOODMAN: And who did you support?
REP. CAROL AMMONS: I was here for Bernie Sanders. I was a Bernie Sanders delegate. I spoke at Chicago State and introduced him. We welcomed him in Urbana-Champaign to 20,000 students. We were excited about Bernie Sanders.
AMY GOODMAN: Why Bernie Sanders? You’re from Hillary Clinton’s home state.
REP. CAROL AMMONS: You know, the political revolution is really important. The issues that Bernie really spoke for and spoke to and will organize about is why I supported Bernie Sanders from the very beginning. This is really not necessarily about the individual, but it is truly about the ideas. And Bernie Sanders spoke to the ideas and the ideals of so many Americans. And that’s why it was easy for me to support Bernie Sanders for this Democratic convention.
AMY GOODMAN: Why not Hillary Clinton? And how do you feel that today she was formally nominated?
REP. CAROL AMMONS: You know, it wasn’t really about why not Hillary or why Bernie. It was truly about what the ideals that were being expressed by those two people and the issues that are important to me and the people that I represent. The minimum wage is a big issue in our community and in our state. The Trans-Pacific Partnership—I’m an environmentalist. We’re concerned about water. We’re concerned about our resources and our land. Those were the issues that were really important to us in our communities. We’re concerned about criminal justice. So is he. I think Hillary is going to take the next step. I truly believe, with Bernie’s support and support with people like myself and others in the states, that Hillary will take the next steps to get us to where we should be.
AMY GOODMAN: And your thoughts as you watch these mothers who are mourning the deaths of their daughters and sons, who, a number of them, died as a result of police violence, like Sandra Bland’s mother, who is from Illinois?
REP. CAROL AMMONS: That’s a tough one for me. I’m the mother of a 14-year-old, a 21-year-old African-American son and a 26-year-old daughter. And that moves me to the point of fighting for criminal justice reform, improving community-police relationships and bringing accountability to police departments across this country. It is important that we do that for the safety of all communities. And so, I look forward to working on that issue, because it is one that drives me. And I’m a mother, and I expect my children to be safe when they leave my home. And I’ve taught them to be well and treat others well, and I expect that they be treated well, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: Hundreds, if not thousands, of people here at the Democratic convention chanted "Black lives matter."
REP. CAROL AMMONS: Yes, black lives do matter. We want to make sure that we don’t repeat the days of 1950s Emmett Till. We want to make sure that these young people have a future, and it should not be taken by police violence. And there must be accountability. If that is the case, we have to hold everyone accountable for their actions. And that’s what today’s chant was about: Black lives do matter.
AMY GOODMAN: Emmett Till would have been 75 years old this week.
REP. CAROL AMMONS: That’s right. We recognized his birthday a day ago while we were here at the Democratic National Convention. And it was important for me, because I’m a student of the civil rights movement. And I believe he gave his life for us to look back and make sure that we don’t repeat the past. And what we are going to do in November is to ensure that we don’t elect a Republican president that does not mind taking lives and excluding people and hating LGBT communities. We want to make sure he never takes one step on the grounds of the White House.
AARON AMMONS: My name is Aaron Ammons, and I’m a delegate for Bernie from the state of Illinois.
AMY GOODMAN: And what’s the most important issue to you here now?
AARON AMMONS: Well, I would say the $15 minimum wage. I’m also a chapter president for SEIU, Chapter 119 under Local 73, and so we’ve been fighting for $15 for a long time. And so, raising the minimum wage and having a living wage is something that I know is extremely important for millions of Americans, and especially for those who are trying to recover from tough times.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain.
AARON AMMONS: Well, you know, I went through a tough time in my own life, and I ended up with a felony conviction from a drug conviction. And I overcame that and started working at the University of Illinois, changed my life around. And eventually, after a—you know, seeking a pardon, Governor Quinn, on his way out as governor of Illinois, issued me that pardon. And it has allowed me to now serve as an elected official. I’m a State Universities Retirement System trustee. Just so many doors have opened up for me. And I understand that bases, like the living wage that was at the University of Illinois, that gave me healthcare, that gave me union protection, was a foundation for me to be able to take care of myself and my family.
AMY GOODMAN: And how does that differ from people who have served time in prison, others?
AARON AMMONS: Well, you know, there are a lot of different barriers for people who have served time or who have a felony conviction. You know, there are certain things you just cannot do. You can’t work as a mail carrier. You can’t work in the school systems. You can’t serve in municipal government. You know, so there are a lot of blockages in that regard. We’re fortunate that there are some places, like the University of Illinois, who will hire people with felony convictions. But there are lots of places who have policies that will keep you out of that opportunity to have a living wage and to have a decent living.
AMY GOODMAN: What about voting?
AARON AMMONS: Well, in Illinois, we’re fortunate that you can vote in Illinois. But there are plenty other states around the country that will lock you out permanently from voting. But there are a lot of misnomers out there, a lot of miseducation out there, about whether or not you can vote, whether or not you can serve on juries. But in the state of Illinois, you can vote. As long as your feet are on the street, you can vote.
AMY GOODMAN: So, if you’re on parole or probation?
AARON AMMONS: If you’re on parole or probation, you can still vote. In fact, if you are in the county jail and you have not been convicted, you can also vote absentee from the county jail in the state of Illinois.
AMY GOODMAN: In Bernie Sanders’ state of Vermont, you can vote from prison.
AARON AMMONS: Is that—so, I learned a lot over there. And Vermont is one of those places where you can actually vote from prison. I don’t think you should lose your right to vote because you’ve made a mistake and you’re paying your debt to society. Your right to vote should never be taken away from you.
AMY GOODMAN: Thank you very much.
AARON AMMONS: Thank you very much.
AMY GOODMAN: Oh, so why are you supporting—why did you support Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, and will you be supporting Hillary Clinton now?
AARON AMMONS: You know, when I really started to learn about Bernie and saw his consistency over decades of a real statesman, not just a politician, who said what he meant and meant what he said, and he stood for the issues that other people did not want to stand for, who were afraid to stand on those issues, and to take on big banks and call people out for what they were really doing, I really felt like that was the type of person I had to stand with. And that’s the type of organizing that I’ve been involved with all of my life. At this particular point, I feel like there’s no way that I could sit and watch a Donald Trump presidency, so I am compelled, certainly, to join the ranks and to follow the lead—the dignified lead, I would say—of Bernie Sanders, as he stood tonight and said, "I’m asking everybody to put their vote behind Hillary Clinton," and I’m going to follow that lead.
JIM KEADY: My name is Jim Keady. I am a delegate from the great state of New Jersey. I proudly voted for Bernie Sanders today. It’s a bittersweet time right now that Bernie did not win the nomination. And the thing that I’m struggling with right now—and I’ve had a lot of people talking to me about this, my activist friends—I’ve been a grassroots social justice activist for the last 20 years of my life. I’ve fought primarily on labor rights issues in Indonesia and Vietnam, fighting for Nike factory workers to get better wages and working conditions. And unfortunately, Hillary has been on the wrong side of that issue for a very long time.
And I think what activists are saying, people who are being asked by the Hillary supporters in the party to join the team now and to support her and have a united front to make sure that that narcissistic sociopath Donald Trump does not get into the White House—I think what we need to hear from Hillary is for her to be authentic with us, to admit that she’s not a real progressive, that she’s a moderate. And that’s OK. I’m fine with her being a moderate. And what she needs to say, I believe, as a moderate, is that, look, the party needs the activists, they need the people at the grassroots, they need the people that are willing to take the risks that activists take to disrupt meetings, to do civil disobedience, to call on the conscience of the party and the leaders of the party, of which she now is, as the nominee, and for her to say to us, "I value the work that you do, because sometimes I forget about the things that are important for the people at the grassroots. I’m caught up with the lobbyists and the bankers and all those special interests down in D.C., because to run an election"—and I know this, I’ve run for office, I’ve held office—"you’ve got to raise a lot of money." And that’s a challenge she’s faced with. And she needs to own that and say to us, "Please keep fighting and reminding me about the issues that I sometimes forget about. The party needs you. Our country needs you."
And I think if she did that and were honest with herself and with us, that it would be a much easier transition for people in the grassroots activist community, who are very disappointed right now and do want to—wanted to see Bernie win this race, that we could get behind her, again, because the ultimate goal for us now is to ensure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House. And I would like to be enthusiastic about that, in supporting her, and not just begrudgingly do it because it’s a necessary evil.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s New Jersey Bernie Sanders delegate Jim Keady, who has for decades worked on labor issues in this country, and particularly in places like Indonesia and Vietnam, organizing workers in plants that are run by, among other places, Nike. Well, voices of delegates from around the country. I also spoke to Democratic Congressman Luis Guitérrez of Illinois on the floor, walking out of the convention floor just after Hillary Clinton secured the party’s presidential nomination.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Hi. My name is Luis Gutiérrez. I’m a member of Congress.
AMY GOODMAN: how are you feeling right now?
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Very relieved.
AMY GOODMAN: Why?
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Because we’re all together, and now we can go after Donald Trump. I feel really, really good.
AMY GOODMAN: What just happened?
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Democratic Party came together. Bernie Sanders asked us all to reflect the vote, and had the last word. And it was a great word. I was excited. Thank God I didn’t need a handkerchief; I almost cried. It was wonderful, wonderful.
AMY GOODMAN: Democratic Congressmember Luis Guitérrez of Illinois speaking last night, and just after break, he’ll join us live, along with actor and activist Danny Glover. We’re all in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention. We are "Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency." Back in a minute.
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Mumia Abu-Jamal Calls from Prison to Comment on DNC, Black Lives Matter and Mass Incarceration
As the Democratic National Convention enters its third day here in Philadelphia, one of the city’s most famous native sons is observing and covering the proceedings from inside a state prison facility. Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal is a well-known prisoner and also an award-winning journalist whose writing from his prison cell has reached a worldwide audience through his Prison Radio commentaries and many books. Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, but has always maintained his innocence. Amnesty International has found he was deprived of a fair trial. Mumia Abu-Jamal joins us on the phone from the SCI Mahanoy state prison in Frackville, Pennsylvania, along with two of his supporters, actor Danny Glover and Larry Hamm, chair of the People’s Organization for Progress.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We are "Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency." I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. We’re broadcasting from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, broadcasting outside that convention, so people who aren’t credentialed can also join us on the set. We are broadcasting from PhillyCAM, from Philadelphia’s public access TV station. Still with us, Larry Hamm, chair of the People’s Organization for Progress, and actor, activist, director Danny Glover, as we turn now to a surprise guest who has just called in to Democracy Now! Juan?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, we are joined by radio from inside a state prison in Pennsylvania by Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former colleague of mine here in Philadelphia. We were both journalists together here in the 1970s, perhaps the most well-known political prisoner in the United States, an award-winning journalist, whose writing from his prison cell has reached a worldwide audience through his prison radio commentaries and many books. Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, but has always maintained his innocence. Amnesty International has found he was deprived of a fair trial. Mumia Abu-Jamal joins us now on the phone from SCI Mahanoy state prison in Frackville, Pennsylvania.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Mumia.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Hola, hola, Juan, everyone, Larry, everyone. On a move.
LARRY HAMM: Hey, Mumia. On a move.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: How you all doing?
DANNY GLOVER: All right, brother.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Mumia, we’re interested in your thoughts on the convention occurring right here in your hometown.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: It’s a hell of a show. But it is a show. And, you know, I mean, it has writers and directors and stage managers. And it’s a hell of a show. But never forget: It’s just a show.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of not only what’s happening on the inside—I mean, we just broadcast today—
OPERATOR: This is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution Mahanoy. This call is subject to recording and monitoring.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s the recording that comes on over the call. So, very quickly, Mumia, there’s not only action on the floor of the Democratic convention, but thousands of people have been marching in the streets.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I think that’s extraordinary. And I think that’s where the real action is. While I said the convention is a show—and who can doubt that?—what’s happening in the streets of Philadelphia, that’s where the real story is, because those are the voices you won’t hear throughout these four days of gala, extravaganza, lies and illusion, because you’re hearing the pain of the people, the real concerns of the people, and, really, the desperation of the people to be heard by the rich and the powerful. You look inside, you’ll see the powerful. You’ll see millionaires, right? We have an incredible system right now—millionaires running against billionaires. Well, who’s not in that picture? And that’s the 99 percent, the rest of us, you know.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Mumia, I’m sure you also monitored the Republican convention that occurred last week and Donald Trump emphasizing that he is the law and order candidate. And I’m—
OPERATOR: This is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution Mahanoy. This call is subject to recording and monitoring.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Go ahead.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’m sure that it reminded you of a person that we were familiar with right here in Philadelphia, the mayor of Philadelphia, Frank Rizzo, who was the ultimate law and order candidate. For those of the younger generation who are not familiar with Rizzo, any similarities between some of the stuff that you remember from him and Donald Trump?
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I mean, Frank Rizzo was authentically working-class. You know, he rose from the bottom of the police department to become its commissioner and then was elected mayor. And, you know, I thought about Frank Rizzo when I first heard that Donald Trump was running, and I had the same reaction when I heard that Frank Rizzo was running for mayor: I laughed. I’m like, here was a guy, high school dropout—nothing personal, but it’s true—and here’s a guy who is like dumb as rocks about everything other than making money—or taking money, I should say. But, you know, I stopped laughing. You know, I thought about when Ronald Reagan ran for president, this grade-B actor. I laughed. I stopped laughing. And when you look at this guy, he’s like Frank Rizzo with billions and billions of dollars in his pocket. But if you kind of turned off the screen and listened to the words, it’s the same message: fear, fear, fear, fear of the other, fear of blacks. "And only I can save you." It’s kind of a mixture of Frank Rizzo, Goldwater, Spiro Agnew, Dick Cheney, you know, and Hitler.
AMY GOODMAN: Mumia, you recently did a commentary on the killings of police officers in Baton Rouge and Dallas. Share your thoughts on this.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Well, I think one of the lines I used in that commentary is: Why should any of us be surprised? Whenever that happens, what you’ll hear, especially among elite opinion on TV, is that this was a madman, this was a crazy person. If he was mad, how did he get accepted into the Army? How did he serve tours in Afghanistan or Iraq? Both of these men displayed military training that they acquired from the U.S. government and as they became killers in the Third World. When they came back to the United States and they saw their reality, do you think that drove them crazy? And, you know, something like 22 veterans commit suicide every day in America. And that’s because of the horrible things they’ve been asked to do by empire abroad. And, you know, when you look at the condition of black people in America—mass incarceration gone crazy, ghettos being policed as if it is Fallujah or a foreign nation—why would you be surprised? They were trained by the state to do exactly what they did. And they did it.
AMY GOODMAN: Mumia, we are speaking to you from Mahanoy state prison. You used to be on death row for two decades. I think, ultimately, perhaps, though it was the judicial system, it was enormous international pressure that led to you being taken off of death rope. How is your health now? For a period of time, we didn’t know what was happening—diabetes, eczema. How are you being dealt with? How is healthcare there? What are you asking for?
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Well, for a while there, I didn’t know what was happening. I had diabetes. I had extreme high blood pressure. My skin was falling to my feet. I was itching in an insane degree. What we learned through this litigation is that I had hepatitis C, that to this date has not been treated. I’ve probably been given more treatment for my symptoms—right?—than perhaps any other prisoner in Pennsylvania. That’s true. But I’ve yet to be treated for that disease.
And the state, in their latest brief to the court, said if the plaintiff prevails, it will cost the DOC over $600 million. I can’t make this up. It’s probably online. That’s only because they claim there are some 6,000 men, and probably women, in the Pennsylvania system who have hepatitis C, and very few of them are treated, though, understand, we asked them—the head of the DOC’s medical division, Dr. Peter Noel, "How many people are being treated with these new antiviral medications?" And he said, "I don’t know." We said, "Well, can you give us your best guess?" He said, "Hmm, five or six." Five or six out of 6,000.
What we also learned is they have a protocol. It was a secret protocol that we learned about at that hearing, that men and women who have hepatitis C must wait until something called esophageal varices are detected. That’s when you’re bleeding from your esophagus out of your mouth, which means, of course, that your liver is, for all intents and purposes, dead. That’s why you’re bleeding out of your mouth, because you can’t process—your liver can’t process your blood. It’s rejecting it. That’s when you’ll be considered to be put on a list for treatment. That’s stage 4 liver disease.
AMY GOODMAN: Danny, any comments you want to share with Mumia Abu-Jamal?
DANNY GLOVER: Well, first of all, I was just thinking about his health. And essentially—and I think, for us to be practical, they’re trying to kill him, right there, before our eyes. Certainly, his analysis on what has happened and what is happening here is right on point.
I was at an event at a church on Broad Street, where men and women were there. Particularly women were there. And certainly, it was for them and the voices of women. One of the women who was there, her father had been a political prisoner for 42 years. So, that’s the place where everything is happening. CodePink had a sign saying "feminism, not militarism." They were promoting that. That’s where the real convention is. They were the people who are still fighting, who want their voices to be heard. And our responsibility, the work that Larry does and the work that we have to do as progressives, is about that.
I was just thinking also about what W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in his 1953 reissue of The Souls of Black Folk, after 50 years, when he talked about how his thinking at that time was that the question of the century was race. The question of the century, he said, is still race. But what he didn’t know then is that how people would be able to manage to live and to go on with their lives, go on with their lives in the midst of all of the pain, in the midst of all—in the midst of all the wars. That’s the thing that we have to consume ourselves with, in terms of whether it’s the war in our cities or the war abroad or the destabilization of governments, etc., etc.
AMY GOODMAN: Mumia Abu-Jamal, I know we just have 15 seconds. Do you believe the issue of the 21st century, the problem of the 21st century, is still the color line?
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I think it’s the color line, but it’s also the class line. We’ve just experienced a black president. But black Americans, in the words of Young Jeezy, for the most part, are still living in hell.
OPERATOR: You have one minute left.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we want to thank you for joining us, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Your last 20 seconds that we have for this broadcast?
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: I would urge anyone who has a computer or a way to acquire The Nation of February 10th, 2016, the article by Michelle Alexander entitled "Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote." It is incredible. I thank you all. I love you all. Larry, a pleasure hearing you again, brother.
LARRY HAMM: It’s good to hear you, Mumia.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Everybody, I love you. Thank you for this time with you. On a move.
AMY GOODMAN: Thank you very much. Imprisoned former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, speaking to us from prison in Frackville, Pennsylvania. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Special thanks to Danny Glover and Larry Hamm and all the team that made this broadcast possible.
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Hundreds of Sanders Delegates Walk Off Convention Floor in Protest of "Rigged" Election
The historic night marking the first nomination of a woman on a major party’s presidential ticket was not without protest. We speak to some of the hundreds of Bernie Sanders delegates who walked out of the Democratic National Convention soon after her former challenger asked to award her the nomination. "They did not listen to the people," said Felicia Teter, a New Hampshire delegate. "They did not just ignore us, but they fought against us."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The historic night was not without protest. Hundreds of Bernie Sanders delegates walked out of the convention soon after the senator asked the convention to suspend the rules and award the nomination to Hillary Clinton.
SANDERS SUPPORTERS: Walk out! Walk out! This is what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!
FELICIA TETER: My name is Felicia Teter. And Bernie supporters are staging a walkout of the DNC, because we were never welcome here, we were never wanted here, and no matter what we have said and what we have shown, and what the media has said and what the media has shown, and what WikiLeaks has said and what WikiLeaks has shown, still the people’s voices are not being heard, and still the people’s votes are not being counted. And so, we are going to show the Democratic Party that if they will not have us and they will not welcome us into their party, then we will leave, and they will lose to Trump. And it will not be our fault. It will be their fault, because they did not listen to the people, they did not listen to the person who came from the bottom and got to the top. They simply ignored us. They shut us down. They did not just ignore us, but they fought against us. So now we are leaving, and they will have to beat Trump by themselves.
SANDERS SUPPORTERS: Walk out! Walk out! Walk out! Walk out! Walk out!
LUIS ERIC AGUILAR: My name’s Luis Eric Aguilar, 14th Congressional District of Illinois. The theme of the DNC was to unify the party, but the delegates for Hillary get there early, reserve seats in the front rows so it shows good to the media, and then they push us to the back. That is not how you unify the party. If you want to unify the party, you include us with the Hillary delegates. But because of that, there’s not going to be unification here. They tried taking away my signs. They tried taking away these signs, the "No TPP" signs. All the homemade signs were taken away from us. But that is taking away our freedom of speech. We have a right to be there and have our speech. So, since they started taking these away, I started to write it on my arms, and so did my fellow delegates in my state, just to, you know, continue our freedom of speech.
SANDERS SUPPORTERS: [singing] This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island.
PAULA OLIVARES: My name is Paula. I’m an alternate delegate from the state of Georgia—or rather, I should say, I was. We’ve just witnessed the death of our democratic system. This election has been rigged from the very beginning. We’ve all known it. The proof came out. The superdelegates had a choice today, and they made that choice very clear: We’re not wanted in that party. I believe that we need to take our support elsewhere. It’s very sad. It’s heartbreaking to see. This is what we have built. I’m just—it’s heartbreaking. It’s really heartbreaking. Bernie will be the only one to beat Trump. Hillary won’t beat Trump. She’s a criminal. I don’t understand how people are OK with her being a criminal, proven by the FBI, with two active investigations still coming. So, I don’t know. But we’re done. The Democratic Party does not care about you. The Democratic Party does not care about America. It is a party that is strictly all about money. All that they want is make everyone good for the corporations. That’s what the TPP is all about. This is what—this is what democracy looks like.
SANDERS SUPPORTERS: This is what democracy looks like! Tell us what democracy looks like!
AMY GOODMAN: Voices of Bernie Sanders’ delegates. Hundreds walked out of the Democratic National Convention last night after Hillary Clinton was formally nominated. When we come back, we’ll hear from delegates on the floor of the convention. And here in studio at PhillyCAM, Philadelphia’s public access TV station, we’ll be speaking with Clinton supporter Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez of Chicago and actor and activist Danny Glover. This is Democracy Now!, "Breaking with Convention". We’ll be back in a minute.
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Danny Glover & Bernie Delegate Larry Hamm: The Sanders Movement Must Stay Mobilized to Push Change
The address at the DNC from mothers whose unarmed African-American children were killed by law enforcement, or due to gun violence, marked an "extraordinary moment," says New Jersey delegate Larry Hamm, chair of the People’s Organization for Progress. But he adds, "I wish someone would have said police brutality must stop. … In the two years since the death of Michael Brown, 2,500 people have been killed by police in the United States." We are also joined by actor and activist Danny Glover. Both men say they formerly supported Bernie Sanders and now plan to vote for Hillary Clinton. Glover notes, "What we do beyond the 9th of November is the most important thing."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We’re "Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency." We’re broadcasting from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, to talk more about the convention, we’re joined now by actor and activist Danny Glover and New Jersey delegate Larry Hamm. He’s a chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress and is a Bernie Sanders delegate.
Welcome, both of you.
LARRY HAMM: Good to be here.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Larry, you were there last night—
LARRY HAMM: Yes.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —when the mothers of the victims of police murders or abuses spoke. Could you talk—
LARRY HAMM: Yes.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Your reaction?
LARRY HAMM: Well, it was very painful. But let me say, first of all, that it was an extraordinary moment. I’ve been involved in electoral politics going back to the National Black Political Convention in 1972, and I couldn’t have imagined a moment when a major political party would have the mothers of victims like these premiered and presented at a national convention. So it was an extraordinary moment. And the mothers presented themselves well. And they spoke well. And there’s nothing that the mothers said that I could disagree with. I love those mothers.
But at the same time, I wish someone would have said police brutality must stop. Nobody said that, I mean, unless I missed it. Police brutality must stop. In the two years since the death of Michael Brown, 2,500 people have been killed by police in the United States—last year, 1,135 killed; this year, 506 killed. And it goes on and on and on. No one said—and you had the mothers—the mothers who actually spoke, two of the three, their sons were victims of racist violence, not police brutality, per se. But no one said racist violence must stop. Nobody talked about the numbers of incidents. And I wouldn’t expect them to do so, but you have to understand, there was a whole segment of the convention that kind of dealt with this issue. They brought the chief of police from Pittsburgh to speak. And the emphasis was on community-police cooperation, gun control. But nobody’s talking about police brutality.
I support the Black Lives Matter movement. But we’re saying black lives matter, black lives matter. No one is saying stop police brutality. Our people are being killed in the street. And the people who are killing them are not being held accountable, not being indicted, not going to trial, not being found guilty. And this is the problem. You know, we don’t want police—I’m not—one of these chiefs talked about, "Well, they expect so much of the police, to be this, that." Not expecting that. What we expect: Don’t kill unarmed black people. And if you do it, you have to face the same consequences as if I would have done it. And this is the problem. And it was a very painful moment for me when the mothers spoke, but they did well. I have no criticisms of those women in pain.
But in New Jersey, we have Abdul Kamal, who was killed by the Irvington police, shot 15 times. He had a cellphone in his hand. Jerame Reid got out the car with his hands up—it’s on video—shot at point-blank range by a black police officer, Braheme Days. Kashad Ashford, shot four times in the head while he was unconscious. Little 14-year-old Radazz Hearns, shot seven times in the back. You know, and it goes on and on. And somehow, the discussion is always deflected, and these—the murders of those police in Dallas and, I believe it was, in Baton Rouge, you know, every time the movement seems to get white-hot and there’s a real sharp focus on the police, something is used to deflect and to fuzzy that focus. And we got to get that focus back. We got to get it back, and we got to force every possible change that is needed to deal with this problem.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Larry, you have been pushing for this for decades. I don’t know if a week goes by where Democracy Now! doesn’t get a press release from People’s Organization for Progress in Newark, New Jersey, where you are holding another protest somewhere in New Jersey—
LARRY HAMM: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: —around a person who has been killed or someone you’re remembering or demanding some kind of change.
LARRY HAMM: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: What is that change that you feel is so critical to really make a difference in this country to deal with police violence?
LARRY HAMM: Well, right now, with the cases that we’re dealing with in Jersey, the four I just mentioned, we want the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman, to launch civil rights investigations into the deaths of Kamal, Reid, Ashford, and the shooting of Hearns. In all of those cases, there were no indictments—nobody indicted, nobody going to trial. And we want civil rights investigations. Not that we’re saying that that in itself is a panacea, but one of the reforms we need in New Jersey, we need an office of the special prosecutor just to—independent office of special prosecutor just to investigate these police shootings.
And Bernie Sanders had something in his platform. He said that every time the police kill someone, there should be a special independent investigation. But there is a whole agenda of reforms that are needed. But what we need at this moment is to hold together this critical mass that seems to have come together at this moment to bring about fundamental change.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, you know, one of the things I’m wondering—maybe Danny might want to comment on this—is this is not a new story. In fact, if you go back to the Chicago race riot of 1919, the East St. Louis riot in 1917, the Detroit riot of 1942, Newark in ’67—
LARRY HAMM: Yes.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —Detroit, almost always mass insurrections in the black community have resulted from police violence. And I’ve come to the conclusion, I think—I don’t know if you agree—that every 20 years, police departments of America change personnel, because most of the cops are in for 20, 25 years, and they retire. And there’s no institutional memory or legacy, so you have a new generation of cops that are on the street right now that weren’t there in 1992 during Rodney King, who weren’t there in 1960, and the institutions themselves don’t train and make that a part of their training of the police to how they are supposed to respect the black and brown communities of the country. So you have to go through these—through these spates of tides of sudden killings, and then resistance by the communities, before the new generation of cops recognizes you can’t be doing that, people are going to resist you.
DANNY GLOVER: Thank you, Larry, for all of the work that you’ve done over the years. We go way back and know each other for some times. And certainly, I want to talk about, certainly, the video itself, which just so moved me. And as I sat here—because I wasn’t there last night in the convention center, as I sat here and watched it before we—and listened to the words and all that stuff, I just thought about what a great moment, what a moment, what a signature moment and a key important moment. We must remember this moment, that moment, not the election after, but for decades to come. Remember this moment, because maybe within that, there’s a context of the situation where we can—we can create some kind of different narrative about this, our relationship.
And it goes back, our relationship with law enforcement. It goes back since before the Civil War. It goes back to the slave militias. It goes back. It goes way back to after the Civil War, the relationship with law enforcement and everything. So let’s—we could go on and on and on. But it’s the culture of it. It’s the culture within the department, which seems to perpetuate itself and sustain itself, in some sense.
Now, certainly, when I thought about—when they talked about the movement, I was thinking about, well, when we talk about Black Lives Matter and those courageous women who began that and then built that—
LARRY HAMM: Absolutely.
DANNY GLOVER: —they’ve talked about police brutality. It’s right up on that.
LARRY HAMM: Yes, yes.
DANNY GLOVER: Right up on the agenda. But they’ve been inclusive of other dynamics. When you talk about Black Lives Matter, you have to talk about education. You have to talk about all the different things that affect black lives, the lives of young black children, all the time, every single thing.
I remember when I worked for city government in the Model Cities Program, the office of community development, in 1971, for six-and-a-half years. We knew, in the Hunters Point, in the Bayview-Hunters Point, a predominantly black community, we knew how many jobs were going to be coming there this summer, summer jobs and everything else. I’m not saying the model wasn’t perfect, but there was a different kind of engagement. All of us who came through and witnessed what happened with the Black Panther Party, when they talked about community, community and police protection and all those things. But they added other things to the program—free breakfast for children, free education, free healthcare. All those become a part of what Black Lives Matter. In a larger context, in a larger time, it’s a caring about our whole being, who we are spiritually, who we are physically, etc.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to intone these three mothers’ names. We’re talking about Geneva Reed-Veal, who was the mother of Sandra Bland, Sandra Bland who was taken by a police officer in Texas, who was taken to jail—she couldn’t afford the bond. She is—she’s taken to jail because she was pulled over, supposedly for not signaling a traffic lane change.
LARRY HAMM: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Then you had Lucia McBath, mother of Jordan Davis, young teenager who was in a car with his friends, Thanksgiving, in a parking lot, playing music. And a white man drove up, annoyed by their loud music, instead of just pulling his car away, he ends of opening fire on them and killing Jordan. And then, finally, Lesley McSpadden, who was the mother of Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer two years ago. At the Democratic National Convention, all standing, and also Eric Garner’s mother was standing there.
DANNY GLOVER: Yes, yes, exactly.
AMY GOODMAN: Does this—Danny Glover, what does this mean for you in terms of who you will vote for? Did this surprise you, as you heard that this took place? You have long been a surrogate for Bernie Sanders, as Larry Hamm was a supporter of Bernie Sanders. Larry, I think you’re going to go in maybe a different direction than Danny Glover is going to go in casting a final vote. Who are you going to vote for? Do you know at this point, Danny Glover?
DANNY GLOVER: I’m going to be very frank: When I go to the polls, I’m going to vote for Hillary Clinton. I’m going to be very frank about that. I think that the idea of Donald Trump as president, see, is also a frightening idea. But I know at the same time, in voting for Hillary Clinton, I want to put the kind of pressure on her. I want to make her live up to that platform and everything else. I want us to exceed what has been put in that platform. I want us to see a movement come out of this.
Now, in the event that she wins, we’re going to fight, still. In the event that she doesn’t win, we’re going to fight, still. There’s no worse coming, in the event she doesn’t. But, I mean, I’m going to go—I know where black people are going, and I’m going to go with them. I’m going to go with those mothers. You know what I’m saying? I’m going to go with those mothers, because my mother, if she was here, she would have hugged those mothers, and she would have been weeping in front of the television. And I’m going to go with those mothers, absolutely.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Larry?
LARRY HAMM: Yes. I’m going to follow the guidance of the standard-bearer Bernie Sanders, and I’m going to vote for Hillary Clinton. It’s a choice between neofascism, Donald Trump, and neoliberalism, Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump must be defeated, and not just defeated, he must be defeated decisively. There must be a repudiation of these ultra-right-wing and fascist tendencies that are supporting him and that are in his movement. The struggle against neoliberalism, which has been going on for the past 40 years, will continue after November the 8th.
And the Bernie Sanders movement is at a critical stage. Bernie Sanders did something that was tremendous in the political arena. He widened the space for progressive politics. But more than that, he proved that there is a critical mass of people in the United States that will support progressive, even radical, politics. And the challenge at this point is for all of those forces—because there’s one force. There’s the Bernie Sanders movement vis-à-vis the Democratic Party and the establishment and corporate leadership of that party, but within the Bernie Sanders movement itself, there are many tendencies. The question is: Are those tendencies going to be able to resolve their contradictions to the point—not eliminate them, but at least modify them to the point that they can hold together and keep this movement going? Or are they going to explode, explode and that movement go the way of the Rainbow Coalition movement, of which I was a part, after the Jesse Jackson campaign of 1988?
This is a very critical movement. The progressive genie—the genie of progressive politics is out of the bottle. There are powerful forces that want to put that back in. They want Bernie Sanders and his movement to go away. They want to return as business as usual. And our job is to make sure that that does not happen.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah, I mean—
AMY GOODMAN: Danny Glover?
DANNY GLOVER: Larry said it perfectly, in the sense, what we do beyond the 9th of November is the most important thing that we’ll do in our lives right here. The work that we do, the way in which we nurture new leadership, the way in which we use progressive politics and get progressive leaders elected to local, regional government, national government, that those are the things that we’re going to do, in a sense.
But we have to really continue to understand the dialectics that we’re dealing with, and understanding that the dialectics are always changing in this situation. We’ve got to find a way. And as we bring this movement forward, it also uses its insight and imagination in the idea of transformation. Dr. King always talked about transformation and the need for not only us to transform the institution which govern us, the institution, but to transform ourselves. What does that transformation look like? What does it look like? What does it look like when we talk about environmental racism? What does it look about when you talk about the planet itself? What does it look like? What are all the things that we have to be talked about?
AMY GOODMAN: You know, something we haven’t talked about is climate change. And we haven’t talked about what happened in Cleveland and what’s happened in Philadelphia.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: The heat dome that we’re living in right now, if you go out into the streets, I mean, seeing the delegates getting onto buses here, the same in Cleveland, it is so agonizingly hot. I mean, Juan, you lived in Philadelphia for years.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I lived in Philadelphia for 15 years. And I’ll tell you, the last few days, I have never seen, felt the kind of heat that I’ve felt in the last few days in this city.
LARRY HAMM: When I arrived in Philly on Monday, I parked my car in a parking lot, came back. When I got in the car and started it up, the temperature gauge said 108 degrees.
DANNY GLOVER: A hundred and eight, yeah, yeah.
LARRY HAMM: I couldn’t believe that.
AMY GOODMAN: And people aren’t talking about this, to show the power of these protests in this absolutely suffocating heat, in both convention cities.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: And it’s not just Cleveland and Philadelphia. The country is under a heat dome right now.
DANNY GLOVER: Exactly.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, the Republicans did not mention climate change. The Democrats talk about it, but the question is, you know, how are they dealing with it? Now, we have to go to break, but we’re going to come back. Our guests are Larry Hamm—he is longtime chair of the People’s Organization for Progress. He’s here in Philadelphia as a Bernie Sanders delegate from New Jersey. We’re also joined by Danny Glover, famous American actor, film director, who is here for the convention, and, well, we’ll find out why. This is Democracy Now!, "Breaking with Convention." Back in a moment.
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Danny Glover & Rep. Luis Gutiérrez on Sanders, Clinton and the Long Arc of U.S. Movements
Broadcasting from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, we host a discussion about how Sanders backers can move forward together with supporters of Hillary Clinton to defeat Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. We are joined by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, who endorsed Hillary Clinton last year, and Danny Glover, an actor and activist who endorsed Bernie Sanders.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The Democracy Now! special for two weeks, expanded two hours every weekday from both conventions, "Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency." I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. We’re broadcasting this week from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We’re joined now by two guests. Luis Gutiérrez is a Democratic congressman from Illinois. He endorsed Hillary Clinton last year. Danny Glover is an actor and activist who has endorsed Bernie Sanders.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now!
DANNY GLOVER: Thank you.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Thank you very much.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Luis, I’d like to start with you, if you could expound a little bit about what you think last night meant, especially after the official nomination of Hillary Clinton and President Clinton’s speech.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Well, Amy caught me at a very exciting moment. I was sitting with the Illinois delegation. And Vermont had passed on issuing their votes for the presidency, then they came back. And then I got to witness firsthand, looking up to the Vermont delegation, Bernie Sanders unify our party and close the nomination process, basically, by acclamation, say that Hillary Clinton is the nominee of the Democratic Party. And, you know, my daughter, Omaira—we’re like those mixed families of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. It was good, you know, brought her to the convention. We came as a family, and we’re going to leave as a family. We want to work to make sure that immigrants can come out of the shadows. And if there’s anything that we’ve demonstrated strength on and unity, is around that issue. Fifteen dollars an hour, it’s an important—it’s in the platform, something we’re going to work for.
I mean, as you look at yesterday, for my daughter, I think of my mom, Juan, and I think of sterilization and Puerto Rican women. And that was it, right? Either you had a lot of children, or you never had control over your bodies, whether it was sterilization. We’re going to protect Planned Parenthood, and we’re going to protect a woman’s right to choose. And I saw a women break the glass ceiling yesterday. So, for my mom and for my daughters, for my sister, for all the little girls and all the grown women, it was really an exciting night yesterday to see us break that glass ceiling. And now we have much work to do in order to continue to unify our party.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Danny, you campaigned for Bernie Sanders. Your feelings in terms of his decision that he thought that the most important thing was to defeat Donald Trump in November?
DANNY GLOVER: Well, I think one of the things, we all felt the most important thing to do was to defeat the Republican nominee, whoever he was. It just so happens to be we have our worst nightmare in Donald Trump.
But I’m thinking about what brought many people, young people, others who may have been disenchanted with the political system and the electoral process, back to this moment where we’re at now. And that’s the fact that we had the possibility of igniting a movement and being part of a movement, which is much larger than an election. Now, I know that’s a lot of the rhetoric that’s been said by Sanders’ camp and everything else, and there are so many things that the campaign touched on, and certainly issues around Palestinian rights, issues around poor people. You know, as I walked around this city and watched all the homeless men and women, families, people out on the street, maybe they should have been in that moment yesterday. Maybe they should have been there, as their physical presence was a testimony to the work that we need to do. We have to continue to remind ourselves that it’s a movement that we’re building. It’s not simply to vote for this particular first woman as the president of the United States. But I think that’s the most thing—the most important thing for us to come out of this with, and hopefully we do come out of this with. that.
I sat there in that hall when Bernie laid the news on everybody, gave everybody his "come to Jesus" moment: "We’ve got to go with Hillary." And I watched those young people. And a number of us stood by—myself, Susan Sarandon and others—consoling those young people, who had come out for the first time, who had now expressed their willingness to be participants in the rescue of this country and humanity. And here they were right now feeling lost and everything else, and we had to tell them that we—this is about this movement that we’re building, that you’re a part of. We’ve been around here for many, many years and many movements, but it’s critical that you stay engaged, it’s critical that you question, it’s critical that you fight back, and to talk about the real issues.
You know, one of the issues that we’ve tried to get Bernie Sanders to talk about so much is the issue of race. You cannot talk about this country without talking about slavery and race, and everything as to what it’s meant to capitalism. You know? And there’s been so much work written about this and everything. And once we began to insert that—and certainly Black Lives Matter, other groups, the Color of Change, all those that talked about the race in connection to capitalism. And we cannot—we cannot lose sight of that. That has to be at the forefront. Not only that, but women and immigrants have to be at the forefront of this.
AMY GOODMAN: And don’t you feel, or do you feel, Hillary Clinton can do that?
DANNY GLOVER: I don’t know. I’m going to be honest with you. You know, I sat up here, and I don’t know. I don’t know, if we push her to the wall—can we push her to the wall? You know, does she—does she and herself, can we push her enough? I know what her past has been. You know, it’s easy to talk about our children and not talk about, you know, Libyan children or Afghani children or Syrian children or all that. It’s easy to talk about our children in some sort of rhetorical way, in some sort of way, but not to talk about—talk about our children in relationship to all children, you know, and everybody in the world itself, and making the world itself a place that’s sustainable for all of us. Or the—we did so many things—the climate.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: But I think—
AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Gutiérrez?
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I think that we’re missing a very clear point there. That is that now we have a Democratic platform, a Democratic platform which are our guiding principles. And almost everything you’ve spoken about is now in that Democratic platform. We sat down with the Bernie Sanders folks at the drafting committee, and we argued, and we pushed back and forth. Bernie Sanders says—and it is recognized almost universally—this is the most progressive Democratic platform ever written.
DANNY GLOVER: I’m not arguing about that.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Enshrined—no, but I—because I didn’t—
DANNY GLOVER: No, I don’t think that we are missing the point, that we know what a platform is. Come on.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Because I didn’t—but, Danny, Danny, I listened—
DANNY GLOVER: I mean, we—look here—
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Danny, I listened—
DANNY GLOVER: Look here, sir.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Danny, I listened to you patiently, without interrupting you.
DANNY GLOVER: OK, then.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: And I would just like—
DANNY GLOVER: OK, then, go ahead.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: —an opportunity, just so that we could have a space here where you and I could talk about this, as we move forward. Look, in the Democratic platform, we’re clear about $15 an hour. In the Democratic platform, we finally said death penalty should be abolished in the United States.
DANNY GLOVER: In the federal level. In the federal level.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I understand, but that’s what we can do.
DANNY GLOVER: OK, go ahead. OK.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: That’s what the platform is. It’s about the federal platform. But we did put that in the platform. That’s a reversal of policy that we’ve had before. Look, Danny, I’ve worked—finally—do you know how hard it is to work with Democrats to get them to be pro-immigrant? Juan knows. Amy knows. I’ve been taken away from the White House on numerous occasions, arrested, because of the deportations under the Barack Obama administration. Now we have enshrined in that platform that says that even when a refugee from Central America comes forward, Democrats say they should have a lawyer, not just—not just the drug traffickers, the murderers and the rapists and those involved in human trafficking. When they get before the court, they’re guaranteed a lawyer, but their victims aren’t guaranteed a lawyer. It is now enshrined in that platform. There are many things that you and I, together, have really spent our life trying to improve in America.
And I just want to end with this comment. I’ve always known black lives matter. I’ve always known that. I would not be a member of Congress if black blood had not been spilled in the '60s to give me the civil rights and the voting rights that have allowed me to grab that microphone and to be a member of Congress. We can come together—immigrants—man, my daughters, they have so many more rights today, and I want to make sure they keep their dirty, filthy hands off of Planned Parenthood and that we don't have somebody on the Supreme Court that’s going to turn the clock around. I remember 1986, I voted for the gay rights ordinance. It couldn’t pass the city council, a gay rights ordinance. All it said was, "Oh, you can’t discriminate against gay people." Now we have marriage equality spoken about from the Congress of the United states.
So, I’m thankful to Bernie Sanders. And I was really—I was really—there was so much joy in my heart when I watched him, because I know how difficult it must have been for him to go yesterday and to say we close the nomination and to endorse Hillary Clinton. But that’s leadership, and that’s healing, because Donald Trump is a monster who says he’s going to round up 11 million undocumented workers in this country, deport them, and then build a wall so they can never come back. That’s something that we need to respond to.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: If I can—if I can, I’d like to make a—
DANNY GLOVER: Listen, I don’t think we have a point that we’re arguing.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: No.
DANNY GLOVER: There’s no point of argument about this. We’ve all been in with struggles throughout our lives, and all been part of movements throughout our lives. You know? And so, my point is that. I’m just saying, as Dr. King said, where do we go from here? Community or chaos? And I’m certainly moving toward community. But he understood clearly that the axis that we had to deal was with racism, we had to deal with militarism, and we had to deal with materialism. That’s clear.
I live in a city that I was born, I love, I’m born and raised there. I walked out of my house, and I see homeless people in San Francisco. I walk out of my house, and the working-class people who lived on my block when I bought my house over 40 years ago don’t live there anymore, because they’ve been moved out of the city and pushed aside. I’ve watched people who are part of the informal economy, because they can’t be a part of the formal economy because jobs have left here. Now, you can’t reverse what has been done in terms of trade agreements and such else. But there’s some way in which governance has to play a role in affecting—really affecting people’s lives. We talk about the middle class. We walk about the working class. We don’t talk about those people who are unemployed. We don’t talk about about those people who have left the system. We don’t talk about those people who go to [inaudible]. I’ve been to solitary, I’ve been to Tracy, I’ve been to Quentin, I’ve been to city jails, everywhere and throughout my life, to talk to people and say that maybe—and maybe this is the moment. But I know that at the same time, that we’ve got to fight.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: We’ve got—we’ve got to fight.
DANNY GLOVER: And simply the election of a woman—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: If I can interrupt you both for a second—
DANNY GLOVER: —the election of a president, of a woman president—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We’ve got a few minutes.
DANNY GLOVER: —is not the end of the story.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We’ve got a few minutes, and I just want to—Danny, you say a lot of us have been around now for years and dealing with the struggles, and a lot of the young people don’t understand the historical legacy upon which they stand right now—
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —when Jesse Jackson ran—
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —when McCarthy ran—
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —when all these other folks sought to get the Democratic Party moving in a more progressive and radical direction.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But I’m also reminded that in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson, who was a conservative, who was a centrist in the Democratic Party, won the election against Barry Goldwater and won the House and the Senate, for a few years, we had the most progressive legislation in American history—Medicare, Medicaid, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Voting Rights Act—because there was a movement that was pushing a centrist president who ended up with the most liberal domestic policy, obviously, since FDR.
DANNY GLOVER: Because the people were moving him. At the same time—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: People were moving him, right, exactly.
DANNY GLOVER: —he went to war in Vietnam, expanded the war in Vietnam.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Mm-hmm.
DANNY GLOVER: So what did we give up in that process?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Right.
DANNY GLOVER: In fact, it was the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party in 1964—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: ’64, right.
DANNY GLOVER: —who tried to unseat the Democratic Party in Mississippi, who came out on that platform against the war in Vietnam, 1964.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Right, right.
DANNY GLOVER: So, all of that, look, we know that. At the same time, we, in some sense, were seduced to say, in the program, yes, civil rights, but what about the other issues? What about the issues externally in this country?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Right.
DANNY GLOVER: Which has been, we saw—we talk about—and this is part of it. We were the only person—country to lose a war that provides the narrative for the war.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Right.
DANNY GLOVER: That’s right. We’re the only country. You know, we lost 3—between 2 and 3 million Vietnamese, which we never hear about.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I think if we think of this nomination and this election as the end, then Danny is absolutely right.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah. I mean—
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Danny, we’re going to continue to fight tomorrow.
DANNY GLOVER: OK.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I mean, I got to Congress in 1993, and I said no to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: And my congressional district was majority Mexican, and they really thought it was a good idea. Today we all know, because of our experience, it was a wise vote to vote against the North—
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah, yeah.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I haven’t voted for a free trade agreement since I’ve been in Congress for 24 years. And there are Democrats that are going to stand up for working men and women. I’ve marched. I’ve picketed. I’ve gone to jail. So have you. Together, we need to take on this threat of Donald Trump. And Donald Trump is a threat to the Latino community, to the black community, to the gay community, to women and their rights. He is a monster that we need to defeat next November. And, you’re right, we haven’t resolved all of the problems. We haven’t all come together and really focused laser on every issue that may be important to us all. But I think there is this huge area in which your work and the work of progressives can come together. And we need to come together in November, because if we don’t, I mean, I’m really scared of what the future—
DANNY GLOVER: This is a unity moment right here.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Thank you. Thank you, Danny.
DANNY GLOVER: Thank you, brother. I love you.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I respect you so much.
DANNY GLOVER: Thank you, brother.
AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Gutiérrez, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, very close to the Clintons, just said to Politico that—what did he say?—he believes Hillary Clinton would support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if she’s elected president. He said, "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed." But she would support it. Here, you have hundreds of signs all over the Democratic convention floor, people holding up the "Ban TPP" sign.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And don’t forget that in 2008 both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton said they were going to oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. But then, once they got into office, they backed it, both of them.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Can I just say—let’s be real about this. When Bill Clinton was elected president of the United States, he brought us NAFTA. Right? A Democratic president. Where did they get most of the votes for the North American Free Trade Agreement? Certainly not from Democrats.
DANNY GLOVER: Yeah.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: They got it from Republicans. Barack Obama has TPP. Where is he getting most of the votes? From Republicans. They oppose—if we were all dying of thirst and Barack Obama could make it rain and bring us water, they’d rather die of thirst. But they sure do support his free trade agreement. That’s what Republicans will do. So, look, do we have internal issues in our own party that we need to deal and grapple with? Absolutely. That’s why I like to see independent Democrats in our party make sure that we challenge our own. I’m going to vote against the TPP. I know the vast majority of Democrats are going to do that.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you both for being with us. I know you have to go give a talk.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: There’s a lot of stuff happening at this convention.
REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: But, Danny Glover, I hope you’re going to be staying with us in our second hour. Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, actor Danny Glover.
That does it for our show. I’ll be doing two speeches this weekend: Friday night, July 29th, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Town Hall, and Saturday, July 30th, at Martha’s Vineyard at the Old Whaling Church. Check our website at democracynow.org.
Special thanks to the crew here at PhillyCAM—Laura Deutch, Gretjen Clausing and Ryan Saunders; the whole crew—Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke and Nermeen Shaikh and Carla Wills and Laura Gottesdiener, Deena Guzder, Sam Alcoff, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud, Denis Moynihan.
... Read More →
"Biggest Crack in Glass Ceiling Yet": Clinton Becomes First Female Major-Party Presidential Nominee
Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday when she secured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S. history. During the roll call vote at the Democratic National Convention, Bernie Sanders joined the Vermont delegation and moved to give Clinton the party’s presidential nomination by acclamation.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: It was an historic evening here in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention, as Hillary Clinton secured the party’s presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S. history. Clinton was officially nominated by Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: So, tonight, on behalf of our mothers, trying to make ends meet, and our fathers, who haven’t seen a pay increase in years, on behalf of the students, drowning in a sea of debt, on behalf of all who suffer the injustice of discrimination because of the color of their skin, who protest for immigrants’ rights, gay rights, voting rights and more fairness in America, on behalf the—all of the victims of senseless gun violence, I give you a leader, a great leader, who can unite us as a nation and as a people, a leader who can break down the barriers and build a better future for every American. She will fight for us all with her heart, her soul and her mind. My fellow Democrats, I am pleased to second the nomination for Hillary Clinton as the party candidate for the president of the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: Ahead of the roll call vote, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was nominated by Hawaii Congressmember Tulsi Gabbard.
REP. TULSI GABBARD: Let us draw inspiration from the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." Now, my friends, because this is a movement fueled by love, it can never be stopped or defeated. Now, on behalf of millions inspired by aloha, determined to seek a future rooted in love, compassion and justice for all, and dedicated to a government of the people, by the people and for the people, I am truly honored to nominate Bernie Sanders for president of the United States.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: During the roll call vote, Senator Sanders’s brother Larry, who lives in Britain, spoke on behalf of Democrats abroad.
LARRY SANDERS: I want to bring before this convention the names of our parents, Eli Sanders and Dorothy Glassberg Sanders. They did not have easy lives, and they died young. They would be immensely proud of their son and his accomplishments. They loved him.
MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Democrats—
LARRY SANDERS: They loved the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and would be especially proud that Bernard is renewing that vision. It is with enormous pride, so I cast my vote for Bernie Sanders.
MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Thank you very much.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Larry Sanders, Bernie Sanders’s brother. Later, Bernie Sanders joined the Vermont delegation, then moved to give Clinton the party’s presidential nomination by acclamation.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Madam Chair, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules. I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States.
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: Thank you, Senator Sanders. Senator Sanders has moved, in the spirit of unity, to suspend the rules, to suspend the rules and nominate Hillary Clinton by acclamation as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Is there a second?
DELEGATES: [cheers]
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: All in favor of the motion, say "aye."
DELEGATES: Aye!
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: Opposed, "no."
DELEGATES: No!
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: The ayes have it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The second night of the Democratic National Convention ended with a short message from Hillary Clinton, who spoke from New York.
HILLARY CLINTON: What an incredible honor that you have given me! And I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and to everyone who’s fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory. This is really your night. And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.
... Read More →
Watch the Full DNC Speeches of the Mothers of Sandra Bland, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin
One of the most moving moments of the DNC came Tuesday when the Mothers of the Movement gathered on the convention stage. They were the mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Mike Brown, Hadiya Pendleton, Dontré Hamilton and Sandra Bland, whose deaths spurred the Black Lives Matter movement. We hear from Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland; Lucia McBath, mother Jordan Davis; and Sybrina Fulton, mother Trayvon Martin.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: It was an historic evening here in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention, as Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major U.S. party in the history of the country. At the end of the evening, Hillary Clinton spoke to delegates from New York.
HILLARY CLINTON: What an incredible honor that you have given me! And I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and to everyone who’s fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory. This is really your night. And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Earlier in the evening, Hillary Clinton secured the nomination after her rival, Bernie Sanders, joined the Vermont delegation and then moved to give her the party’s presidential nomination by acclamation.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Madam Chair, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules. I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States.
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: Thank you, Senator Sanders. Senator Sanders has moved, in the spirit of unity, to suspend the rules, to suspend the rules and nominate Hillary Clinton by acclamation as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Is there a second?
DELEGATES: [cheers]
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: All in favor of the motion, say "aye."
DELEGATES: Aye!
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: Opposed, "no."
DELEGATES: No!
REP. MARCIA FUDGE: The ayes have it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: One of the most moving moments of the second night of the convention came when the Mothers of the Movement gathered on the convention stage. These were the mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown, Hadiya Pendleton, Dontré Hamilton and Sandra Bland, whose deaths spurred the Black Lives Matter movement. Sandra Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, spoke first.
GENEVA REED-VEAL: One year ago yesterday, I lived the worst nightmare anyone could imagine. I watched as my daughter, Sandra Bland, was lowered into the ground in a coffin. She was my fourth of five daughters, and she was gone. No, no, not on administrative leave, but on permanent leave from this Earth, found hanging in a jail cell after an unlawful traffic stop and an unlawful arrest. Six other women have died in custody that same month: Kindra Chapman, Alexis McGovern, Sarah Lee Circle Bear, Raynetta Turner, Ralkina Jones and Joyce Curnell. So many of our children are gone, but they are not forgotten.
I am here with Hillary Clinton tonight, because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children’s names. She knows that when a young black life is cut short, it’s not just a loss. It’s a personal loss. It’s a national loss. It’s a loss that diminishes all of us. What a blessing tonight to be standing here, so that Sandy can still speak through her mama. And what a blessing it is for all of us that we have the opportunity, if we seize it—we’ve got to seize it—to cast our votes for a president who will help lead us down the path toward restoration and change.
LUCIA McBATH: You don’t stop being a mom when your child dies. You don’t stop being a parent. I am still Jordan Davis’s mother. His life ended the day that he was shot and killed for playing loud music. But my job as his mother didn’t. I still wake up every day thinking about how to parent him, how to protect him and his legacy, how to ensure that his death doesn’t overshadow his life.
Here’s what you don’t know about my son. When Jordan was little, he wouldn’t eat a popsicle unless he had enough to bring out to his friends. He loved practical jokes. He liked having deep conversations with me about our love for God and how God could allow such pain and suffering. I lived in fear that my son would die like this. I even warned him that because he was a young black man, he would meet people who didn’t value him or his life. That is the conversation that no parent should ever have with their child.
Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say that black lives matter. She isn’t afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn’t build walls around her heart. Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to become a part of the solution. And that’s what we are going to do. We’re going to keep telling our children’s stories, and we’re urging you to say their names. We’re going to keep building a future where police officers and communities of color work together, in mutual respect, to keep children like Jordan safe. The majority of police officers are good people doing a good job. And we’re asking—and we’re also going to keep using our voices and our votes to support leaders like Hillary Clinton, who will help us protect one another, so that this club of heartbroken mothers stops growing.
SYBRINA FULTON: First of all, I’d like to say it’s an honor to be here, to stand with these mothers and be amongst you. I am an unwilling participant in this movement. I would not have signed up for this or any other mother that’s standing here with me today. But I am here today for my son, Trayvon Martin, who is in heaven, and also for his brother, Jahvaris Fulton, who is still here on Earth. I did not want this spotlight. But I will do everything I can to focus some of this light on the pain of a path out of the darkness.
Hillary Clinton has the compassion and understanding to support grieving mothers. She has the courage to lead the fight for commonsense gun legislation. She has a plan—she has a plan to divide that so often exists between law enforcement and the communities that they serve. This isn’t about being politically correct. This is about saving our children. That’s why we’re here tonight with Hillary Clinton. And that’s why, in memory of our children, we are imploring you, all of you, to vote this Election Day. Hillary is one—Hillary is one mother who can ensure our movement will succeed. I want to thank you for standing with us and supporting us. And we like to leave with you what God has given us: strength, love and peace. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Mothers of the Movement. That was Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin. When we come back, we’ll speak to actor and activist Danny Glover and New Jersey Bernie Sanders delegate Larry Hamm, head of the People’s Organization for Progress. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We’re "Breaking with Convention." Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Andra Day performing "Rise Up" last night at the Democratic National Convention after the Mothers of the Movement spoke out, mothers of children killed by police or vigilantes. ... Read More →
Headlines:
Hillary Clinton is 1st Woman in U.S. History to Head Major-Party Ticket
Hillary Clinton has secured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S. history—even as the nominating process was marked by dissent on the convention floor. During the roll call vote, Bernie Sanders joined the Vermont delegation and then moved to give Clinton the party’s presidential nomination by acclamation.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Madam Chair, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules. I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States."
TOPICS:
Hillary Clinton
DNC 2016
Sanders Supporters Walk Out, Stage Sit-in to Protest Nomination
But hundreds of Sanders supporters walked off the convention floor in protest and headed to the nearby media tent. This is Vermont delegate Shyla Nelson.
Shyla Nelson: "This was an entirely organic, grassroots, non-hierarchical effort among a group of grassroots—a group of delegates who were hearing increasingly deep, deep concerns from constituents that their voices were not going to be heard at this convention, and a feeling of moral obligation to ensure that we do what we can to represent them as they would want us to represent them here."
The Sanders delegates later took over the media tent and held a sit-in. Many taped their mouths shut, with the word "silenced" written in marker over the tape. Meanwhile, inside the convention center, former President Bill Clinton spoke about Hillary Clinton.
Bill Clinton: "When I was president, I worked hard to give you more peace and shared prosperity, to give you an America where nobody is invisible or counted out. But for this time, Hillary is uniquely qualified to seize the opportunities and reduce the risk we face, and she is still the best darn changemaker I have ever known."
Later, Hillary Clinton addressed the convention center via video stream. Her video began with an image of a glass montage of all 44 male presidents shattering, symbolizing the shattering of the glass ceiling.
Hillary Clinton: "What an incredible honor that you have given me! And I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and to everyone who’s fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory. This is really your night. And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next."
That was Hillary Clinton, speaking via video stream from New York. Outside the convention center, crowds demonstrated late into the night. The media collective Unicorn Riot reports authorities used pepper spray against crowds protesting outside the gates of the convention center. It also reports former Green Party vice-presidential candidate Cheri Honkala was arrested.
TOPICS:
DNC 2016
Bernie Sanders
2016 Election
Hillary Clinton
DNC: Hundreds March to Demand End to Police & State Violence
Meanwhile, across Philadelphia, thousands of people protested during the day Tuesday. In North Philadelphia, hundreds marched for hours in the heat in a "Black Resistance" demonstration demanding an end to police brutality and state violence. This is Chenjerai Kumanyika speaking about Hillary Clinton’s 1996 comments in which she called some black youth "superpredators."
Chenjerai Kumanyika: "Hillary Clinton has never really fully or adequately accounted for her comments, which are not just comments but actually a policy that she lobbied for and her husband pushed through, which resulted in people being incarcerated at tremendous, unprecedented levels. We’re still dealing with the impact of that. That’s why the language that we hear about a broken system—for a system to be broken, it had to work. And this policing and criminal justice has never worked in the United States for African Americans."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC 2016
VA Gov. McAuliffe: Clinton Would Flip-Flop & Support TPP If Elected
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe told Politico Tuesday that he believes Hillary Clinton would support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if she is elected president. McAuliffe is a close friend of the Clintons. When asked by Politico if Clinton would change her position and support the deal if elected, McAuliffe said, "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed." Clinton had supported the deal, but then came out opposing it last October amid the close primary against Bernie Sanders, who has long opposed the TPP.
TOPICS:
TPP
Nate Silver: Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton Now Equally Unpopular
Meanwhile, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog is reporting Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are now equally unpopular among the American public. A recent Gallup poll shows the two candidates had the exact same unfavorability rating of 58 percent. Throughout the election season, multiple polls have shown both candidates to be historically unpopular. This comes as President Obama has said it’s possible Trump may win in November. This is President Obama speaking with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.
President Barack Obama: "Anything is possible. It is the nature of democracy that until those votes are cast and the American people, you know, have their say, we don’t know."
TOPICS:
Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton
2016 Election
40+ Arrested at MN Gov. Mansion Protesting Philando Castile's Death
More than 40 people were arrested Tuesday in front of the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota, protesting the police killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights earlier this month. Demonstrators have been camped in front of the mansion for weeks. On Tuesday, officers made arrests after telling protesters they could not have tents, tarps or chairs—anything that could be used for an occupation. Meanwhile, in Rochester, New York, some of the more than 70 people arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest there earlier this month appeared in court Tuesday. Among them was 22-year-old Sapphire Williams, who was arrested at the protest while speaking on camera with a local TV reporter. She and her lawyer said Tuesday she will fight her charges.
Sapphire Williams: "If I know and understand my rights as a U.S. citizen as I learned them to be, it was absolutely unjust and wrong."
Van White: "You’ve seen the video. It’s really quite disturbing to think that someone could be going about their business, speaking, utilizing their First Amendment right, and then, because of what they said, someone says, 'I don't like that. I’m going to arrest them.’ That’s apparently what happened. Justice delayed is justice denied. She’s entitled to walk into court on August the 3rd and have this case dismissed immediately."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC: Banner Dropped Over I-676: "White People Say Black Lives Matter"
Here in Philadelphia, more than a dozen members of the group Showing Up for Racial Justice dropped a banner this morning from an overpass over Interstate 676 reading "White people say: Black lives matter!" This is Rebecca Subar.
Rebecca Subar: "We’re standing here on the Vine Street Expressway in Philadelphia over the interstate. This is I-676, and this is the highway that leads from Valley Forge—you’ll recognize the name—where a lot of the delegates for the Democratic convention will be driving right now. And as they pass, they’re now seeing a sign that we’ve just put up. It’s five feet high and 30 feet wide. It’s black on white. And it says '#White People Say: Black Lives Matter!!!' Black lives matter is a message for all of us. And it’s work out in the world to change the system, and it’s work internally to get with our own fears and to try to overcome them, so that we can help to be part of changing the system."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC 2016
Basketball Star Michael Jordan Speaks Out on Police Violence
Meanwhile, former basketball star Michael Jordan has spoken out for the first time about police violence. A statement released by Jordan said: "As a proud American ... and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers." On Tuesday, Jordan donated $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and another $1 million to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
Police Brutality
ISIS Takes Credit for Slaying of French Priest During Service
ISIS is taking credit for the slaying of a French priest in Normandy on Tuesday. Witnesses said two men came into the church during a morning service and slit the throat of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel as parishioners watched in horror. Police who arrived at the church shot the two attackers dead.
TOPICS:
Islamic State
White House Says It Will Expand Refugee Program for Central Americans
The White House has announced it will substantially expand a program to admit Central American refugees into the United States. Unaccompanied Central American children are currently allowed to enter the United States as refugees. The new regulations will expand that designation to include their entire families, permitting siblings over the age of 21, parents and other relatives. The change comes after tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and families from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have arrived at the U.S. border since 2014. The number of mothers with children and unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S. border reportedly rose late last year amid increasing violence in El Salvador and Honduras.
TOPICS:
Immigrant Rights
Immigration
Latin America
Turkish Gov't Accused of Torturing & Raping Alleged Coup Supporters
Lawyers in Turkey report people arrested after the failed coup are facing rape, torture and beatings in detention. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested or removed from their jobs. The Turkish government has been accused of widely violating civil and human rights as it seeks to root out the coup plotters. Many detainees are being held in informal detention centers. Turkey’s state of emergency allows for detention without charge for 30 days. It also allows the government to listen to all conversations detainees have with their lawyers. Turkey has also issued arrest warrants for more than 40 journalists.
TOPICS:
Turkey
Serbia: 150 Refugees on Hunger Strike Demanding Passage to EU
About 150 refugees are in the third day of a hunger strike in a field in Serbia on the border with Hungary. They are demanding passage to the European Union. Most of the group is from Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are Afghan refugees Abdul Malek and Ruhu Amin.
Abdul Malek: "We are on hunger strike. We’re not really eating anything. As you can see, the food is over there. Nobody wants to eat, just drinking, and they’re sitting in the day."
Ruhu Amin: "The refugee crisis is not, you know, an issue which must be dealt by only one nation. It’s a global issue. And we want attention and, you know, focus from world and global leaders."
TOPICS:
Refugees
Canada: Detained Immigrants Enter 15th Day of Hunger Strike
Meanwhile, in Canada, about 50 immigrants imprisoned in detention centers in Ontario have entered the 15th day of a hunger strike. The strikers say they will continue until they are able to meet with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. The strikers are demanding Canada limit detention to 90 days and stop putting immigrant detainees in maximum security prisons.
TOPICS:
Immigrant Rights
Immigration
Australia Proposes Indefinite Detention for Terror Convictions
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pressing Australian leaders to agree on legislation that would allow for indefinite imprisonment of people convicted of terrorism. Under the legislation, people convicted of terrorism would serve their sentences and then be subject to periodic reviews to determine whether it would be safe to release them. Opposition leaders said they needed more information about the law before voting.
TOPICS:
Australia
War on Terror
David Daleiden's Charges Dropped over Edited Planned Parenthood Videos
A district judge in Texas has dismissed the last remaining criminal charges against two anti-choice activists behind the secretly filmed, heavily edited videos of Planned Parenthood officials. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt had been indicted for tampering with government records, a felony, in connection with videos that were edited to falsely accuse Planned Parenthood of profiting off donations of fetal tissue.
TOPICS:
Abortion
Lawsuit: Fear & Surveillance at World's Largest Hedge Fund
An employee of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has filed a complaint calling the fund’s working environment a "cauldron of fear and intimidation." He also says he was a victim of sexual harassment by his supervisor. The complaint describes an atmosphere of constant surveillance, high security and fear of retribution for stepping out of line. Bridgewater manages more than $150 billion in assets each year.
Yale Places Gag Order on Corey Menafee, Who Broke Racist Window
And in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University has placed a gag order on dishwasher Corey Menafee, who broke a stained-glass window depicting smiling enslaved Africans carrying bales of cotton. Menafee broke the window in Yale’s residential dorm Calhoun College, named after former Vice President John C. Calhoun, one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in American history. Yale fired Menafee. He was also charged with felony mischief. But after widespread condemnation of Yale’s actions, the charges were formally dropped, and Menafee was offered his job back. But Menafee’s agreement with Yale now prohibits him from speaking about his case. Earlier this month, Manafee spoke to Democracy Now!
Corey Menafee: "You know, it’s a picture—it was a picture that just—you know, as soon as you look at it, it just hurts. You feel it in your heart, like, oh, man—like here in the 21st century, you know, we’re in a modern era where we shouldn’t have to be subjected to those primitive and degrading images."
Click here to see our full interview with Corey Menafee.
TOPICS:
Racism
Race in America
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Hillary Clinton is 1st Woman in U.S. History to Head Major-Party Ticket
Hillary Clinton has secured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S. history—even as the nominating process was marked by dissent on the convention floor. During the roll call vote, Bernie Sanders joined the Vermont delegation and then moved to give Clinton the party’s presidential nomination by acclamation.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Madam Chair, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules. I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States."
TOPICS:
Hillary Clinton
DNC 2016
Sanders Supporters Walk Out, Stage Sit-in to Protest Nomination
But hundreds of Sanders supporters walked off the convention floor in protest and headed to the nearby media tent. This is Vermont delegate Shyla Nelson.
Shyla Nelson: "This was an entirely organic, grassroots, non-hierarchical effort among a group of grassroots—a group of delegates who were hearing increasingly deep, deep concerns from constituents that their voices were not going to be heard at this convention, and a feeling of moral obligation to ensure that we do what we can to represent them as they would want us to represent them here."
The Sanders delegates later took over the media tent and held a sit-in. Many taped their mouths shut, with the word "silenced" written in marker over the tape. Meanwhile, inside the convention center, former President Bill Clinton spoke about Hillary Clinton.
Bill Clinton: "When I was president, I worked hard to give you more peace and shared prosperity, to give you an America where nobody is invisible or counted out. But for this time, Hillary is uniquely qualified to seize the opportunities and reduce the risk we face, and she is still the best darn changemaker I have ever known."
Later, Hillary Clinton addressed the convention center via video stream. Her video began with an image of a glass montage of all 44 male presidents shattering, symbolizing the shattering of the glass ceiling.
Hillary Clinton: "What an incredible honor that you have given me! And I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and to everyone who’s fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory. This is really your night. And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next."
That was Hillary Clinton, speaking via video stream from New York. Outside the convention center, crowds demonstrated late into the night. The media collective Unicorn Riot reports authorities used pepper spray against crowds protesting outside the gates of the convention center. It also reports former Green Party vice-presidential candidate Cheri Honkala was arrested.
TOPICS:
DNC 2016
Bernie Sanders
2016 Election
Hillary Clinton
DNC: Hundreds March to Demand End to Police & State Violence
Meanwhile, across Philadelphia, thousands of people protested during the day Tuesday. In North Philadelphia, hundreds marched for hours in the heat in a "Black Resistance" demonstration demanding an end to police brutality and state violence. This is Chenjerai Kumanyika speaking about Hillary Clinton’s 1996 comments in which she called some black youth "superpredators."
Chenjerai Kumanyika: "Hillary Clinton has never really fully or adequately accounted for her comments, which are not just comments but actually a policy that she lobbied for and her husband pushed through, which resulted in people being incarcerated at tremendous, unprecedented levels. We’re still dealing with the impact of that. That’s why the language that we hear about a broken system—for a system to be broken, it had to work. And this policing and criminal justice has never worked in the United States for African Americans."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC 2016
VA Gov. McAuliffe: Clinton Would Flip-Flop & Support TPP If Elected
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe told Politico Tuesday that he believes Hillary Clinton would support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if she is elected president. McAuliffe is a close friend of the Clintons. When asked by Politico if Clinton would change her position and support the deal if elected, McAuliffe said, "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed." Clinton had supported the deal, but then came out opposing it last October amid the close primary against Bernie Sanders, who has long opposed the TPP.
TOPICS:
TPP
Nate Silver: Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton Now Equally Unpopular
Meanwhile, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog is reporting Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are now equally unpopular among the American public. A recent Gallup poll shows the two candidates had the exact same unfavorability rating of 58 percent. Throughout the election season, multiple polls have shown both candidates to be historically unpopular. This comes as President Obama has said it’s possible Trump may win in November. This is President Obama speaking with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.
President Barack Obama: "Anything is possible. It is the nature of democracy that until those votes are cast and the American people, you know, have their say, we don’t know."
TOPICS:
Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton
2016 Election
40+ Arrested at MN Gov. Mansion Protesting Philando Castile's Death
More than 40 people were arrested Tuesday in front of the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota, protesting the police killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights earlier this month. Demonstrators have been camped in front of the mansion for weeks. On Tuesday, officers made arrests after telling protesters they could not have tents, tarps or chairs—anything that could be used for an occupation. Meanwhile, in Rochester, New York, some of the more than 70 people arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest there earlier this month appeared in court Tuesday. Among them was 22-year-old Sapphire Williams, who was arrested at the protest while speaking on camera with a local TV reporter. She and her lawyer said Tuesday she will fight her charges.
Sapphire Williams: "If I know and understand my rights as a U.S. citizen as I learned them to be, it was absolutely unjust and wrong."
Van White: "You’ve seen the video. It’s really quite disturbing to think that someone could be going about their business, speaking, utilizing their First Amendment right, and then, because of what they said, someone says, 'I don't like that. I’m going to arrest them.’ That’s apparently what happened. Justice delayed is justice denied. She’s entitled to walk into court on August the 3rd and have this case dismissed immediately."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC: Banner Dropped Over I-676: "White People Say Black Lives Matter"
Here in Philadelphia, more than a dozen members of the group Showing Up for Racial Justice dropped a banner this morning from an overpass over Interstate 676 reading "White people say: Black lives matter!" This is Rebecca Subar.
Rebecca Subar: "We’re standing here on the Vine Street Expressway in Philadelphia over the interstate. This is I-676, and this is the highway that leads from Valley Forge—you’ll recognize the name—where a lot of the delegates for the Democratic convention will be driving right now. And as they pass, they’re now seeing a sign that we’ve just put up. It’s five feet high and 30 feet wide. It’s black on white. And it says '#White People Say: Black Lives Matter!!!' Black lives matter is a message for all of us. And it’s work out in the world to change the system, and it’s work internally to get with our own fears and to try to overcome them, so that we can help to be part of changing the system."
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
DNC 2016
Basketball Star Michael Jordan Speaks Out on Police Violence
Meanwhile, former basketball star Michael Jordan has spoken out for the first time about police violence. A statement released by Jordan said: "As a proud American ... and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers." On Tuesday, Jordan donated $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and another $1 million to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
TOPICS:
Black Lives Matter
Police Brutality
ISIS Takes Credit for Slaying of French Priest During Service
ISIS is taking credit for the slaying of a French priest in Normandy on Tuesday. Witnesses said two men came into the church during a morning service and slit the throat of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel as parishioners watched in horror. Police who arrived at the church shot the two attackers dead.
TOPICS:
Islamic State
White House Says It Will Expand Refugee Program for Central Americans
The White House has announced it will substantially expand a program to admit Central American refugees into the United States. Unaccompanied Central American children are currently allowed to enter the United States as refugees. The new regulations will expand that designation to include their entire families, permitting siblings over the age of 21, parents and other relatives. The change comes after tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and families from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have arrived at the U.S. border since 2014. The number of mothers with children and unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S. border reportedly rose late last year amid increasing violence in El Salvador and Honduras.
TOPICS:
Immigrant Rights
Immigration
Latin America
Turkish Gov't Accused of Torturing & Raping Alleged Coup Supporters
Lawyers in Turkey report people arrested after the failed coup are facing rape, torture and beatings in detention. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested or removed from their jobs. The Turkish government has been accused of widely violating civil and human rights as it seeks to root out the coup plotters. Many detainees are being held in informal detention centers. Turkey’s state of emergency allows for detention without charge for 30 days. It also allows the government to listen to all conversations detainees have with their lawyers. Turkey has also issued arrest warrants for more than 40 journalists.
TOPICS:
Turkey
Serbia: 150 Refugees on Hunger Strike Demanding Passage to EU
About 150 refugees are in the third day of a hunger strike in a field in Serbia on the border with Hungary. They are demanding passage to the European Union. Most of the group is from Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are Afghan refugees Abdul Malek and Ruhu Amin.
Abdul Malek: "We are on hunger strike. We’re not really eating anything. As you can see, the food is over there. Nobody wants to eat, just drinking, and they’re sitting in the day."
Ruhu Amin: "The refugee crisis is not, you know, an issue which must be dealt by only one nation. It’s a global issue. And we want attention and, you know, focus from world and global leaders."
TOPICS:
Refugees
Canada: Detained Immigrants Enter 15th Day of Hunger Strike
Meanwhile, in Canada, about 50 immigrants imprisoned in detention centers in Ontario have entered the 15th day of a hunger strike. The strikers say they will continue until they are able to meet with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. The strikers are demanding Canada limit detention to 90 days and stop putting immigrant detainees in maximum security prisons.
TOPICS:
Immigrant Rights
Immigration
Australia Proposes Indefinite Detention for Terror Convictions
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pressing Australian leaders to agree on legislation that would allow for indefinite imprisonment of people convicted of terrorism. Under the legislation, people convicted of terrorism would serve their sentences and then be subject to periodic reviews to determine whether it would be safe to release them. Opposition leaders said they needed more information about the law before voting.
TOPICS:
Australia
War on Terror
David Daleiden's Charges Dropped over Edited Planned Parenthood Videos
A district judge in Texas has dismissed the last remaining criminal charges against two anti-choice activists behind the secretly filmed, heavily edited videos of Planned Parenthood officials. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt had been indicted for tampering with government records, a felony, in connection with videos that were edited to falsely accuse Planned Parenthood of profiting off donations of fetal tissue.
TOPICS:
Abortion
Lawsuit: Fear & Surveillance at World's Largest Hedge Fund
An employee of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has filed a complaint calling the fund’s working environment a "cauldron of fear and intimidation." He also says he was a victim of sexual harassment by his supervisor. The complaint describes an atmosphere of constant surveillance, high security and fear of retribution for stepping out of line. Bridgewater manages more than $150 billion in assets each year.
Yale Places Gag Order on Corey Menafee, Who Broke Racist Window
And in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University has placed a gag order on dishwasher Corey Menafee, who broke a stained-glass window depicting smiling enslaved Africans carrying bales of cotton. Menafee broke the window in Yale’s residential dorm Calhoun College, named after former Vice President John C. Calhoun, one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in American history. Yale fired Menafee. He was also charged with felony mischief. But after widespread condemnation of Yale’s actions, the charges were formally dropped, and Menafee was offered his job back. But Menafee’s agreement with Yale now prohibits him from speaking about his case. Earlier this month, Manafee spoke to Democracy Now!
Corey Menafee: "You know, it’s a picture—it was a picture that just—you know, as soon as you look at it, it just hurts. You feel it in your heart, like, oh, man—like here in the 21st century, you know, we’re in a modern era where we shouldn’t have to be subjected to those primitive and degrading images."
Click here to see our full interview with Corey Menafee.
TOPICS:
Racism
Race in America
Donate today:
Follow:
SPEAKING EVENTS
7/29 Provincetown, MA
7/30 Martha's Vineyard, MA
8/19 Seattle, WA
more
WEB EXCLUSIVE
BREAKING: Baltimore Drops All Remaining Charges Against Police Officers in Freddie Gray Case
NEW BOOK
Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America
WEB EXCLUSIVE
WATCH: Full Julian Assange Interview on WikiLeaks & Leaked DNC Emails
WORK WITH DN!
Office Coordinator
Senior TV Producer
Development Manager
SPECIAL COVERAGE
Special Expanded 2-Hour Broadcasts from the RNC and DNC—July 18-29
207 West 25th Street, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10001, United States
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