SALON TALKS

"The system in place is obviously broken": Black Lives Matter activism as a counter to centrist Democrats

Salon Talks: D. Watkins & Natasha Alford discuss Jill Stein, "superpredators," and cop shootings of unarmed blacks

Published August 10, 2016 4:00PM (EDT)

Salon Talk's Carrie Sheffield spoke with author D. Watkins and TheGrio's Natasha Alford about domestic and international manifestations of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Asked if activist and intellectual Dr. Cornel West's assertion that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is a "neoliberal disaster" is indicative of a mood among BLM protesters, Alford said West and other Jill Stein supporters "are capitalizing on that discontent with Hillary."

"We saw it ... throughout the DNC," Alford added, "with Bernie Sanders supporters still, to the very end were disappointed and not happy with the fact that he's ... putting his support behind Hillary Clinton."

Referring to the controversial Bill Clinton-era crime bill and recent police shootings of unarmed black men — two issues at the heart of BLM activism — Watkins said, "The system in place is obviously broken."

"You have these officers who are never held accountable for some of the crimes that they commit," he continued. "And, morally, they see nothing wrong."

Watch the video above.


By Brendan Gauthier

Brendan Gauthier is a freelance writer.

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#blacklivesmatter Cornel West D. Watkins Hillary Clinton Natasha Alford Original Video Salon Talks