On Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addressed an audience of influential African-American legislators and thinkers to outline the ways that ending racial inequality would be the “mission” of her presidency.
During the speech, she noted that race “still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in America and who gets left behind.”
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“If we continue to ask black people to vote for us, we cannot minimize the reality of the lives they lead,” Clinton said. “You can’t just show up at election time and say the right things. You can’t start building relationships a few weeks before a vote.”
Clinton laid out plans for criminal justice reform, aid for minority homeowners and a plan aimed “specifically at creating jobs for young people” in minority communities.
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During the speech, Clinton took specific aim at Bernie Sanders, her Democratic rival, for being a “single-issue” candidate.
“The truth is we aren’t a single-issue country,” Clinton said. “We face a complex set of economic, social and political challenges. They are intersectional, they are reinforcing and we have to take the all on.”
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“It is not enough for your economic plan to by break up the banks. You also need a serious plan to create jobs especially in places where unemployment remains stubbornly high,” she said.
Clinton also defended her record on race, insisting that she had been talking about race issues long before the election and refuting the idea that she was only bringing it up now to play for politics.
“We have to demonstrate a sustained commitment to building opportunity, creating prosperity and writing wrongs, not just every two or four years, not just when the cameras are on and people are watching but every single day,” Clinton said.