Eric Garner's daughter endorses Bernie Sanders: He's black Americans' 'strongest ally'

Erica Garner, the eldest daughter of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being put chokehold by police, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president in a column in The Washington Post Friday. "Black Americans — all Americans — need a leader with a record that speaks for itself," Garner wrote. "And to me, it's clear. Of all the presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders is our strongest ally."
Garner said that her interest in Sanders was first sparked last summer when Black Lives Matter activists interrupted one of Sanders' rallies in Seattle. "The optics were messy, but he heard us," Garner wrote. "He prioritized a racial justice platform. He spoke out, in speeches and debates, about Sandra Bland and declared that black lives do matter. He heard us, and I believe he'll continue to listen."
Garner's endorsement comes amid concerns that even if Sanders managed to defeat Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, he would not be able to win over the black vote. As The Washington Post wrote just last week, "if Sanders can't find a way to win over large numbers of African-American voters, he will have virtually no chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Clinton has already been endorsed by another black activist: Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Jared and Ivanka's Albanian island
Under The Radar The deal to develop Sazan has been met with widespread opposition
-
Storm warning
Feature The U.S. is headed for an intense hurricane season. Will a shrunken FEMA and NOAA be able to respond?
-
U.S. v. Skrmetti: Did the trans rights movement overreach?
Feature The Supreme Court upholds a Tennessee law that bans transgender care for minors, dealing a blow to trans rights
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump