Question Two: Does Bernie's platform and history support black people?

[Humanist_Activist]

66. OK, this I don't understand, why should it be race vs. economics, aren't they all connected anyways?

And I don't mean subsumed, you have depressed economic areas that are that way because of racism. Are we to deny that redlining exists, or food deserts, de facto segregation, defunding public education, etc.? Are we not supposed to point out that these issues disproportionately affect the African-American community?

You seem to think that Bernie Sanders civil rights activities stopped 50 years ago, when that is blatantly untrue.

Black lives matter, and that includes not only making sure black people are protected from injustice in the courts and law enforcement, but also to make sure we all help increase the quality of their lives. Its all connected, and I would even say that you can't have civil rights without equal opportunity as well.

To give a starker example, I live in St. Louis, above the Delmar divide(North City), many neighborhoods wouldn't look out of place in a post-apocalyptic movie like Mad Max, this is in a major city, entire blocks are abandoned, houses and buildings collapsing, and is this happening on the white side of town? Fuck no, its on the mostly segregated black side. Its so bad that much of North Side is suffering from Black Flight into North County areas and cities like Ferguson.

Now, its not all doom and gloom, but much of it still is, there are several people and groups fighting to preserve what we can and rebuild that which is lost, to try to build a city that's truly integrated rather than with such sharp dividing lines. A city that invests in its people rather than abandoning entire neighborhoods because the residents happen to be mostly majority black.

Recently, St. Louis city barely passed a citizen oversight panel over the police department, its a toothless board that can't do much, the day they voted on it, a "suspicious" package was left outside City Hall, prompting a bomb scare. I'm normally not conspiracy minded, but that seems far too suspicious to me.

The thing is that, the President can do more regarding employment, community investment, housing, and education than law enforcement or racism in general. The fact is that federal aid in economic issues should and will disproportionately benefit the black community. This should go hand in hand with local advocacy for civilian oversight boards(with teeth) that properly represent communities the police are supposed to police. More community involvement with law enforcement, independent offices for prosecution, and other reforms. But, and this is key, no President has jurisdiction over any of this on the local or state level, where it mostly occurs.

Whether the president is Obama, Hillary or Bernie, they can't do much to make black people feel safe on the street from law enforcement.