“Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say black lives matter,” said Lucia McBath, whose son was killed in a Florida parking lot after a dispute over loud music. Chants of “black lives matter” rang around the Philadelphia arena as a group of women who lost their children prematurely to gun violence or in incidents involving police, backed Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. The mothers of the movement, a “club of heartbroken mothers”, have emerged as powerful advocates for Clinton on the campaign trail, telling their children’s stories in churches and town halls across the country. On the campaign trail, the mothers like to say that they are channeling “pain into purpose” and “tragedy into triumph”. While the Republican convention with its draconian law-and-order theme united in criticism of Black Lives Matter campaigners, speakers at the Democratic convention made clear there was no contradiction in supporting police while defending civil rights.

Source: The Guardian July 27, 2016 02:59 UTC