Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - 6 Events That Show Hillary Clinton's Commitment To the African American Community

Go inside the launch of African Americans for Hillary.

In 2015, race still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in America—and who gets left behind. When one in three African American men will be behind bars in his lifetime, when voting rights are under attack, and when opportunity is increasingly hard to come by, we must fight to restore balance and fairness to our country.

Go behind the scenes during the launch of African Americans for Hillary in Atlanta, Charleston, and Chicago.

October 30: Atlanta, Georgia

After a powerful introduction from civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, Hillary took the stage at Clark Atlanta University—one of the many prominent HBCUs in the Atlanta community—to launch African Americans for Hillary. When protests began chanting "black lives matter," Hillary agreed with them: "Yes, they do, and I'm going to talk about that. ... We have to take action together."

That day, she also met with religious leaders at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Minister's Luncheon, where she had the unenviable task of following a speech given by Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr.

October 30?31: Charleston, South Carolina

Hillary joined the Charleston Branch of the NAACP for a celebration of their 98 years—and a moving tribute to the victims of the Charleston massacre.

The next morning, the International Longshoremen's Association endorsed Hillary, with a strong showing from her friends at the International Association of Machinists.

November 2: Chicago, Illinois

The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Dontre Hamilton, Eric Garner, Frankie Valencia, Jordan Davis, Sandra Bland, Hadiya Pendleton, Terrell Bosley, and Blair Holt met with Hillary to discuss gun violence prevention and issues that affect their communities. While Hillary was meeting with the mothers, a 9 year old was killed by a stray bullet just across town, underscoring the urgency of addressing gun violence.

November 7: Orangeburg, South Carolina

NewsOne and Claflin University, an HBCU in South Carolina, hosted a town hall on issues affecting the African American community. Roland Martin, who moderated the event, even questioned Hillary on whether she would appoint an African American woman to the Supreme Court (she would) and her knowledge of the "wobble" (she's open to learning).