Bernie Sanders Ventures To South Carolina To Court The Black Vote

Bernie Sanders went to South Carolina over the weekend in order to make his next move in his Presidential campaign. Six months ago, Bernie Sanders wouldn’t have been expected to travel anywhere because he wasn’t a serious candidate in the race. Now, South Carolina could become a battleground state with Hilary Clinton, and if the Senator from Vermont can tie up the Black Vote, he might actually come out of South Carolina as the favorite to win the nomination.

It certainly appears that what Bernie Sanders is thinking about as he talked about racial issues at a number of campaign stops around the state. The New York Times reports that Bernie Sanders has come under fir by activists such as those who support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The candidate is trying to offset those attacks in South Carolina by talking about the issues in a state where the black vote could win the primary.

Bernie Sanders helped one rally that saw more than 3,000 people attend, according to NPR. The rally, held in North Charleston, South Carolina focused on the fact that the Senator believes there is absolutely still racism in the world and in the United States. “I am not just talking about the sickness of a man who could walk into a Bible study class in Charleston, pray with people in that room and then take out a gun and kill nine people,” Bernie Sanders said. He told the South Carolina crowd that he is also talking about an institutional racism that permeates the criminal justice system.

“This is an issue that cuts across the board. It impacts every race,” he said. “And together we are gonna end the shame of having the highest childhood poverty rate of any major country.” Bernie Sanders said, after reciting a number of names of black people who had been gunned down by white people in recent months. South Carolina has had a number of shootings in the past year that have been alleged to be racially motivated. Just a few months before the Charleston shooting, a man named Walter Scott was shot in North Charleston, South Carolina. Scott was shot by a white police officer and there are more than a few who believe he was killed because he was black. While some have said Bernie Sanders isn’t the best person to be talking about these issues in a place like South Carolina, some attendees said they were glad someone running for president was willing to talk about the issue.

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