Hillary Clinton Speaks About the Deaths of African-American Men
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the keynote address at the 10th annual Massachusetts Conference for Women.
Speaking at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Secretary Clinton discussed the importance of continued economic and social progress for women, calling for paid leave, equal pay for women, and affordable childcare.
“To chart a path forward for women and girls we have to understand how far we’ve come, yet how far we have to go,” she said.
Later, in a light-hearted reference to the much-discussed likelihood of a 2016 presidential run, Secretary Clinton responded to a question about the qualities desired in a “first gentleman,” should there be one.
“I think you need people around you who will kid you, make fun of you,” Clinton said. “I have no shortage of such people in my own life.”
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Secretary Clinton also spoke about the recent deaths of two African-American men who died during separate encounters with police.
“I’m very pleased that the Department of Justice will be investigating what happened in Ferguson or Staten Island,” she said.
“Those families and those communities and our country deserve a fair and full accounting as well as whatever substantive reforms are necessary to ensure equality, justice, and respect for every citizen.”
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Continuing, Secretary Clinton said “The most important thing that each of us can do is to try even harder to see the world through our neighbor’s eyes, to imagine what it is like to walk in their shoes, to share their pain and their hopes and their dreams…These tragedies did not happen in some faraway place. They didn’t happen to some other people. These are our streets, our children, our fellow Americans and our grief.”
Earlier in the day, Conference attendees also heard from award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 12 Years a Slave.
Clinton and Nyong’o helped celebrate the Conference’s 10th Anniversary along with other acclaimed speakers, including designer and philanthropist Tory Burch, Bank of America executive Anne Finucane, former Young & Rubicam Brands Chairman and CEO Ann M. Fudge, and Life is good co-founder John Jacobs.
