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Written by Zana Daghles
Hillary Clinton, known in the feminist movement for being one of the most recognized white feminists, has recently been making an effort to appeal to black voters. It isn’t anything new- we’ve seen this happen before, whether it was about feminism or the gay rights movement or any other popular issue. She grabs whatever chances she has to speak out on these topics, but yet again, many voters think that what she’s saying isn’t what she really thinks.
It’s not an unfamiliar motive for candidates to say whatever voters want them to say, even if it isn’t truly what they think. Hillary is a prime example. Even though this tactic has been done time and time again, we’re seeing a pattern in the votes that Clinton is pulling in. People are starting to believe her.
Hillary’s current target in the race is to earn the votes of black voters. In February, she led Bernie Sanders by as much as 60% among blacks. Hillary and her husband were popular for their appeal to the black community in the 1990s, which may factor into why she has gained such a large amount of black voters’ support. However, there was some warning that the Clintons may not have supported the black community as much as they seemed to. Bill Clinton strongly believed that in order to win back white voters was to discipline black communities with harsh punishment. Clinton sent mixed signals about his stance on racism, and he often went back and forth on his views. In 1994, Clinton signed a crime bill that Hillary publicly and very strongly supported. When speaking out about the bill, she grouped all black children together, talking about them as if they were animals. “They are not just gangs of kids anymore,” she said. “They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.”
Although some voters choose to ignore Hillary’s past statements and believe that she has come to her senses, other black voters aren’t falling for what Clinton has to say. Another event occurring in February involved a black lives matter protestor speaking out at one of Clinton’s private fundraiser. The protestor confronted her, asking her to apologize for her past statements. “We want you to apologize for mass incarceration,” Ashley Williams said at the Charleston, South Carolina, event. “I’m not a ‘super predator,’ Hillary Clinton.” Williams was later escorted out of the event by the Secret Service. Hillary later released a statement to apologize for her word choice used to support her husband’s bill, saying that “I shouldn’t have used those words, and I wouldn’t use them today.”
So, should the black community trust Hillary with their vote? As history has shown with the super predator incident (and many more), I think that many of us would say no. The Clintons have a way of using minority voters as puppets- only saying what everyone wants to hear, regardless of the consequences. It’s not always a bad thing to take the opportunity to get ahead once you see it, but in this case, pretending to care about issues that many voters hold close to their hearts isn’t a smart campaigning strategy. It’s more like one big and careless lie.
