“Each of us has to grapple with some hard truths about race and justice in America”
by digby
Nice speech by Clinton:
I want to say a few words about the pain and frustration that many Americans are feeling about our criminal justice system, I know that (applause) a lot of hears are breaking and we are asking ourselves, aren’t these our sons? Aren’t these our brothers? I’m very please that the DOJ will be investigating what happened in Ferguson and Staten island. (cheers) Those families and those communities and out country deserve a full and fair accounting, as well as whatever substantive reforms are necessary to ensure equality, justice and respect for every citizen.
Now more broadly, each of us has to grapple with some hard truths about race and justice in America, because despite all the progress we’ve made together, African Americans, most particularly African American men are still more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes and sentenced to longer prison terms. And when one stops and realizes a third of all black men face the prospect of prison during their lifetimes, what devastating consequences that has for their families and their communities and all of us. The United States has less that 5% of the world’s population yet we have almost 25% of the world’s total prison population. Now that is not because Americans are more violent or criminal than others around the world, in fact that is far from the facts. But it is because we have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance. And I personally hope that these tragedies give us the opportunity to come together as a nation to find our balance again.
All over the country there are creative and effective police departments demonstrating that it is possible to keep us safe and reduce crime and violence without relying on unnecessary force or excessive incarceration, So let’s learn from the best examples. Let’s invest in what works. Let’s make sure that federal funds to state and local law enforcement are used to bolster best practices rather buy weapons of war that have no place in our streets or contribute to unnecessary force or arrests. (applause) And I support the president’s announcement of a task force on policing that will make recommendations in about 90 days. He’s proposed funding for technology and training which are important steps.
But as we move forward we can’t leave it to presidents, governors, mayors, police commissioners and chief. The most important thing that each 9f us can do is to try even harder to see the world through our neighbor’s eyes, to imagine what it is like to walk in their shoes, to share their pain and their hopes and their dreams. These tragedies did not happen in some faraway place. They did not happen to some other people, These are our streets, our children, our fellow Americans, and our grief.
I like this a lot better than some pablum about how we need to tell nice bedtime “stories about ourselves.” Admitting you have a problem is the first step toward dealing with it.
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