The “Mothers of the Movement” — mothers whose unarmed African-American children have been killed by law enforcement or due to gun violence — will speak about why Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to lead the country, at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night.
“She’s been dealing with these kind of systematic issues all along, so her records speak for itself. So she didn’t just join the game. She’s been doing the work already she’s been in the trenches, so she understands dynamically the way to move forward to be able to change this,” said Lucy McBath, mother of Jordan Davis, Tuesday on CNN’s “New Day.”
The 17-year-old was killed after Michael Dunn shot into an SUV full of Davis and his friends at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station following an argument over loud music from the teens’ vehicle.
Tuesday’s speech schedule will include the “Mothers of the Movement,” which also includes the mothers of Michael Brown, Sandra Bland and other men and women who died due to gun violence, while in police custody or as a result of police actions.
Several mothers of African-American deceased children have hit the campaign trail with Clinton arguing that she is the best candidate to address issues with gun violence and tensions between minority communities and law enforcement.
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Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, said Clinton was the first presidential candidate to reach out to the mothers of these victims. Garner died following a chokehold from police attempting to arrest him for allegedly illegally selling cigarettes.
“She was the first candidate that ever reached out to these mothers,” Carr told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “She was genuinely concerned about our pain and about what we were going through.”
Carr said the former secretary of state met privately with about a dozen mothers who have lost their children to gun violence.
“She listened to our stories,” Carr said. “She listens with compassion. She took notes, not her cabinet, not her press people. She didn’t even have press with her.”
Carr said Clinton understands that community policing is one of the solutions to problems and tensions between African-American communities and law enforcement.
“You should always know the people you are policing. If you form a relationship, there would be less violence,” she said. “We have to get more respect, more consciousness in the neighborhood.”
