“You are defending the people who killed the lives you say mattered” – Bill Clinton to Black Lives Matter protesters.
Bill Clinton spoke at a Hillary Clinton rally in Philadelphia, PA, or should I say “tried to speak”?
The former President battled with Black Lives Matter protestors who heckled him during his speech, accusing him of incarcerating more non-violent Black drug offenders and cutting the benefits of poor ethnic minorities through welfare reform during his term as President.
Protesters also brought up Hillary’s words during a speech in 1996 where she referred to Black men as “super predators”. This resulted in a screaming match between the former President and protesters, as Bill tried to clear up the image of the Clinton’s being wolves amongst the sheep of the Black community.
On the Clinton administration’s bill that resulted in mass incarceration and longer prison sentences for Black drug offenders during his presidency:
“You guys know Vice President Biden? He was the chairman of the committee that had jurisdiction over this crime bill. I had an assault weapons ban in it. I had money for inner-city kids for out of school activities. We had 110,000 police officers so we could put people on the street and not in these military vehicles, and the police would look like the people they were policing. We did all that.”
And Biden said, ‘you can’t pass this bill. The republicans will kill it if you don’t put more sentencing in it’. I talked to a lot of African American groups. They thought Black lives mattered. They said ‘take this bill, because our kids are being shot in the street by gangs. We have 13 year old kids planning their own funerals'”.
Bill points out a woman yelling in protest in the audience:
“She don’t wanna hear any of that. You know what else she don’t wanna hear? Because of that bill, we had a 25-year low in crime, a 33-year low in the murder rate, and listen to this: because of that and the background check law we had a 46-year low in the deaths of people by gun violence.”
“And who do you think those lives were that mattered? Whose lives were saved that mattered? Hillary didn’t vote for that bill, she wasn’t in the Senate. She was spending her time trying to get healthcare for poor kids. Who were they and their lives mattered?”
Protesters begin shouting again and Bill loses control of the rally. Black Lives Matter protestors begin chanting as Bill starts to speak again, defending Hillary referring to Black criminals of the 90s as “super predators”:
“This is what’s the matter. I don’t know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13 year old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out on the street to murder other African American children! Maybe you thought they were good citizens. She didn’t. You are defending the people who killed the lives you say mattered! Tell the truth!”
On Being Responsible for Cutting the Benefits of Poor Minorities Through His Welfare Reform Act:
“They say the welfare reform bill increased poverty. Then why did we have the largest drop in African American poverty in history when I was President?”
He then explains how Republicans were responsible for cutting the money that went to fund the welfare program, yet he was blamed for it. A woman protesting begins yelling in disagreement. Bill responds to her, saying,
“And the reason they know it’s true is she won’t hush”, pointing out the female protester. “When someone won’t hush and listen to you, that ain’t democracy. They’re afraid of the truth. Don’t be afraid of the truth!”
He then goes into listing all that Hillary had done for the Black community in her younger years, saying some of the Black protesters present probably had better lives thanks to Hillary. *side eye*
Watch the 13 minute battle below: