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WASHINGTON — Two of the student activists who interrupted Hillary Clinton’s rally Friday at Clark Atlanta University said the title of the event — “African Americans for Hillary” — explains why they decided to drown out the presidential candidate’s remarks.
“That raises a question, because I’m wondering, why it isn’t Hillary for African Americans?” Avery Jackson, one of the students, told The Huffington Post. “Because that’s the issue. She continues to exploit the spaces that black people value.”
“She doesn’t really express the centering and prioritizing of black issues, which are at the root American issues,” he continued. “I think we see that with the campaign — that she sees the issues of black people outside of the American agenda.”
Clinton was at the university to unveil her criminal justice reform plan. She has been heavily criticized during the campaign for her past support for tough-on-crime initiatives that facilitated mass incarceration.
Though Clinton acknowledges her missteps on this issue, Jackson said Clinton isn’t offering any concrete ways to fix the problem or reverse the damage that has been done.
“She talks about prison reform and changing lives moving forward, but I honestly think there’s a conversation that needs to be centered around the lives that her and her husband have ruined,” he said, referring to the effects of strict criminal justice policies implemented by the Bill Clinton administration.
“At this point, rhetoric is not enough. We need to see action,” he added.
