9 Ways FDR's 'New Deal' Purposely Excluded Blacks

[My Good Babushka]

108. Both democratic candidates supported affirmative action

Neither of our democratic candidates are/were racist.

Hillary Clinton is a supporter of Affirmative Action. Many believe that she was a driving force in her husband’s successful diversification of his cabinet during his time in office. For Love of Politics, by Sally Bedell Smith states “Hillary assigned herself the task of ensuring that Bill kept his pledge to appoint more women and minorities than any previous president, to make his Administration “look like America.” She pressed him to fill half of the senior positions with women. And she urged her husband to make history by appointing the first woman to one of the big four cabinet posts.”

When asked about Civil Rights issues, Clinton states that she believes in reparations for the past, but she also hopes to focus on fixing issues here and now. In a 2000 Senate debate she stated, “We have mental, emotional and psychological reparations to pay first. We have to admit that we haven’t always treated people in our own country fairly. We have some issues that we have to address when it comes to racial justice right now. I’m willing to work hard to be a strong advocate for Civil Rights and human rights here at home and around the world. I want to do everything I can to make sure that the programs and policies that have helped generations of African-Americans have a better life in this country continue. I think we should be focused on the present and on the future. We owe an apology to African-Americans for hundreds of years of slavery.” Clinton has also worked avidly for equal pay initiatives and other women’s rights efforts.
Bernie Sanders on Affirmative Action

Bernie Sanders not only supports Affirmative Action, he received a 97% by the NAACP on Affirmative Action. This score has been interpreted as extremely pro-Affirmative Action. Despite this rating, Sanders is severely disadvantaged among African American voters. In a recent poll, he saw only 3 percent of black voter support, as opposed to the 91 percent that supported Hillary. Sanders believes that this is largely due to a lack of knowledge about his stance on such policies. In an interview on This Week, Sanders stated, “I have a long history in fighting for civil rights. I understand that many people in the African-American community may not understand that. But I think the issues that we are dealing with, combating 51 percent African-American youth unemployment, talking about the need that public colleges and universities should be tuition free, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure. These are issues that should apply to every American.”