Black Lives Matter leader: Dem convention protests possible
A leader of the Black Lives Matter movement said activists may protest the Democratic platform at the party's national convention in Philadelphia next month.
"There are two things that I'm mindful of: One is that I've not seen a draft or a final version of the platform from the Democratic convention committee, and I think that will have a big bearing on how people mobilize," DeRay Mckesson said, according to USA Today.
"The second is that Congress just sat in [over gun policy reform], so it'll be interesting to see how the [Democratic National Committee] DNC responds to people in protest, given that congressmen literally just sat in and they seemed to validate that."
Mckesson said he has concerns about presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's commitment to criminal justice and other issues.
But he noted he doesn't think the presidential election is one between the lesser of two evils.
"I think that this is an election potentially between a candidate that people are rightfully really concerned about and a candidate that is evil," he told USA Today, noting that he sees presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump as the "evil" candidate.
When he met with Clinton, Mckesson said he warned her she may be "underestimating how many people plan to sit this out because they are disillusioned."
"And if the DNC and if Hillary's camp don't help people see her as a real choice, despite their misgivings about her, I think this will be more of an uphill battle than it already is," he said.
He predicted protests around issues such as a $15 minimum wage, criminal justice reform and community oversight of police departments if the Democratic platform doesn't address these topics.
"What's real about Hillary is she will not be able to govern without a coalition of people of color," he said.
"She won't be able to get elected without black people or Latinos. She won't be able to govern without them. It is unfortunate that it took so much pressure for the platform to be responsive to those communities.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/286101-black-lives-matter-leader-dem-convention-protests