Bernie was interrupted mid-speech in Seattle by 2 "Black Lives Matter" protestors when they took the stage and demanded the microphone. One of the women held out her hand for the microphone, but instead of calling security, or telling them to get off the stage, he extended his hand for what he assumed was a handshake. She took her hand back; she wanted the microphone. She needed the voice on stage. Bernie understood this and gave her the microphone, and stood back quietly as the 2 women took the stage.
Bernie could not have handled the situation more graciously. He gave them the floor because, having been an activist before becoming a politician, he could understand why they were doing what they did.
The very day after two protestors from the "Black Lives Matter" movement interrupted his stump speech in Seattle, Bernie released a new Racial Justice plan to the masses.
Bernie has been dealing with "Black Lives Matter" since the beginning of his campaign, most notably on the stage at a Netroots Nation event earlier in the campaign. Protestors shouted from the audience, "Say her name." Bernie said her name at subsequent speeches, along with many other names, and he's been the only politician in the 2016 race to do so.
He's also the only one to say the statement, "Black Lives Matter" without sprinkling it with a variation of "All Lives Matter" or any other phrase to take away its value.
Many supporters like me point to Bernie Sanders' history of forty years of fighting for civil rights for all minorities. For some, that's not enough. But even in denying that, one can clearly see that he's working harder than any other candidate to work with "Black Lives Matter." His recent appointing of Symone Sanders as his Press Secretary is another step in the right direction because she is an active member of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
This has given the Bernie Sanders campaign a direct link to the pulse of the "Black Lives Matter" movement and will greatly benefit both parties.
To say that Bernie Sanders is ignoring "Black Lives Matter" is to make a statement that couldn't be any further from the truth. Bernie Sanders is showing himself to be an excellent ally of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, and they will propel each other far in the coming year.
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