Hillary Clinton invoked the recent killings of and by police officers as evidence of how much progress still needs to be made during a speech Monday at the NAACP conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Clinton stressed that America has "difficult, painful, essential work ahead of us to repair the bonds between our police and our communities and among each other," and she pledged to make police reform a priority if elected. Her speech came just a day after a gunman killed three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where tensions have been high since Alton Sterling was fatally shot by a police officer two weeks ago.
Though Clinton underscored how essential "courageous police officers" are to our democracy, she also sympathized with the African-American community. "We cannot rest until we root out implicit bias and stop the killings of African-Americans," Clinton said, citing several examples of inequality lurking in society and noting that "many African-Americans fear the police."
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
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.