February 25, 2016
#WhichHillary? Twitter Users Voice Concerns with Clinton’s Record
On Thursday morning, Twitter users voiced their displeasure with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton using the hashtag #WhichHillary, which immediately became Twitter’s top trending topic.
While some tweets use the hashtag to comment on Clinton’s record on Wall Street and economic reform, a larger contingent of users have instead focused on Clinton’s involvement in issues directly pertaining to racial injustice.
[Related: [Op Ed] Race and Loathing in South Carolina Presidential Primaries]
The viral hashtag appeared after Black Lives Matter activist, Ashley Williams was thrown out of a predominately white Clinton fundraiser by Secret Service. As reported by Huffington Post, Williams held up a sign depicting Clinton’s infamous 1996 statement “we have to bring them to heel.“
Clinton’s statement was made in support of President Bill Clinton’s 1994 crime bill. The bill has been a sore spot for the Clinton campaign’s quest for the black vote, as prominent black intellectuals and activists continue to highlight the catastrophic destruction it inflicted upon the black community.
The Clinton campaign addressed the charges made by Williams, as well as the thousands of #WhichHillary tweets, in a statement to the Huffington Post:
“In that speech, I was talking about the impact violent crime and vicious drug cartels were having on communities across the country and the particular danger they posed to children and families. Looking back, I shouldn’t have used those words, and I wouldn’t use them today.”
Clinton went on to call for the “school to prison pipeline” to be replaced with a “cradle-to-college pipeline.”
With the black vote comprising more than 50% of the electorate in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, the need for both Democratic candidates to effectively explain their record on issues pertaining to the black community is undeniable.