Between Bill Clinton and Black Lives Matter, a generational divide [View all]

[Cheese Sandwich]

Former President Bill Clinton clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters in a lengthy and heated exchange in Philadelphia Thursday over the effect his 1994 crime bill on African-Americans.
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The deeper query, however, is “Who’s right?”

The answer to that – whether the crime bill was a mistake that needlessly incarcerated thousands of blacks, or a necessary response to a surge in urban crime – may depend on one’s generational and racial perspective.

Let’s step back and let the protest set the stage. While speaking in Philadelphia on behalf of his wife Thursday, Bill Clinton was repeatedly heckled about his crime bill and its effects. According to reports from the scene, the protesters were persistent and angry. One yelled that Mr. Clinton should be charged with crimes against humanity.

The protesters were speaking from an experience in which police violence against blacks and the disproportionate imprisonment of young black men have become enormous national issues. Rightly or wrongly, the ’94 crime bill, which expanded the death penalty, encouraged states to hand out lengthier prison sentences, and reduced federal aid for inmate education, is often cited as a wellspring of today’s US incarceration policies.
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link: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2016/0408/Between-Bill-Clinton-and-Black-Lives-Matter-a-generational-divide