What #BernieSoBlack Can Teach Bernie Sanders and His Supporters
PHOENIX, AZ - JULY 18: Attendees show their support for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the start of a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center July 18, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Democratic presidential candidate spoke on his central issues of income inequality, job creation, controlling climate change, quality affordable education and getting big money out of politics, to more than 11,000 people attending.
Photographer: Charlie Leight/Getty ImagesAs bad as Senator Bernie Sanders uncomfortable encounter with Black Lives Matter protesters on Saturday may have been, the reaction from his followers may be doing the real damage.
After protesters cut short his discussion with Jose Antonio Vargas, an immigration activist, at the liberal conference Netroots Nation on Saturday, Sanders argued that he’d been fighting for civil rights for 50 years, “but if you don’t want me to be here, that’s OK.” He later cancelled several scheduled events that day, including a meeting with minority activists. Meanwhile, as the news of the encounter spread online, Sanders supporters started tweeting in the candidate’s defense, noting that he participated in the March on Washington and was arrested protesting housing segregation.