Hillary on Charleston: ‘Once Again, Racist Rhetoric Has Metastasized into Racist Violence’
RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
HILLARY CLINTON: "I had the great privilege of representing America around the world. I was so proud to share our example, our diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom. Those qualities have drawn generations of immigrants to our shores and they inspire people still. I have seen it with my own eyes. And yet bodies are once again being carried out of a black church. Once again racist rhetoric has metastasized into racist violence. Now it's tempting, it is tempting, to dismiss a tragedy like this as a-- isolated incident.
"To believe that bigotry is largely behind us. That institutionalized racism no longer exists. But despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished. I know this is a difficult topic to talk about. I know that so many of us hoped by electing our first black president we had turned the page on this chapter in our history. I know there are truths we don't like to say outloud our discuss with our children. But we have to. That's the only way we can possibly move forward together. Race remains a deep fault line in America.
"Millions of people of color still experience racism in their everyday lives. Here are some facts. In America today, blacks are nearly three times as likely as whites to be denied a mortgage. In 2013, the median wealth of black families was around $11,000. For white families it was more than $134,000. Nearly half of all black families have lived in poor neighborhoods for at least two generations compared to just 7% of white families. African-American men are far more likely ton stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes and sentenced to longer prison terms than white men. 10% longer for the same crimes in the federal system. In America today, our schools are more segregated than they were in the 1960s. How can any of that be true? How can it be true that black children are 500% more likely to die from asthma than white kids? 500%."
