2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumCarson, Sanders, And O’Malley To Hold Criminal Justice Forum With Black Leaders.
The forum organized by the 20/20 Leaders of America will take place Nov. 21 at the historically black Allen University and be streamed live on BET.com.
Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, and Martin OMalley will discuss criminal justice policy at a forum in Columbia, South Carolina later this month.
The 2015 Presidential Justice Forum is being organized by the 20/20 Leaders of America, a bipartisan group of black mayors, police officers, and other leaders. Each of the candidates vying for the Republican and Democratic nomination was invited to participate in the event, which will be held Nov. 21 at historically black Allen University. BET will livestream the forum, and Jeff Johnson will moderate.
Co-Chair Ashley Bell said the 20/20 Club felt that criminal justice was the premier issue in the black community heading toward the 2016 election. During the question and answer session, he said organizers hope to hear what sort of progress each candidate would commit to in their first term on issues such as the militarization of police and community policing.
These issues have not gotten a fair shake in the public discourse, he said.
He added the group was continuing to talk to other candidates, including Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, about participating along with OMalley, Sanders, and Carson.
Were hoping the rest of the candidates follow their lead, Bell said.
Facebook is among the sponsors of the event, and anyone can submit questions on criminal justice and policing through the 20/20 Club Facebook page.
The conversation about the 2016 election is happening on Facebook, and a huge part of that is a discussion of criminal justice issues, Crystal Patterson, politics and government outreach manager at Facebook, said in a statement. Facebook is pleased to be the title sponsor of the 2015 Presidential Justice Forum, not only to help bring more attention to the issue of criminal justice reform, but also to help connect voters around the country with the candidates participating in the event.
He addd it was important for the group to invite candidates from both parties. By incorporating questions from Facebook, he said he hopes the candidates learn about the perspective of young black Americans.
To the black community, this is not about partisan politics, he said. Its bigger than that.
Last month, Black Lives Matter activists called on the Democratic National Committee to focus a debate on issues including police violence in black communities. Bell said the 20/20 Club has been working on their event for about six months, and he hoped it would draw attention from a broad section of the black community.
We need all stakeholders at the table, he said.
The group focused on Allen University to host the event following the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Three of the victims had ties to the university.
This was a fitting place to have a conversation about race and politics in this country, Bell said.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/carson-sanders-and-omalley-will-talk-criminal-justice#.ideywaQy8
jwirr
(39,215 posts)Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)Maybe Carson will #FeeltheBern
ellen!
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)This should be an interesting forum for all three of them.
Volaris
(10,274 posts)Sanders and OMalley.
I think it's good that all three said yes, despite the fact that Carson is a loon.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)I just don't get why Republicans think that they are qualified to run for their nomination. Oh well, I guess I should be hoping Carson wins the nomination because the GE process will be brutal towards him. But, I don't. I am really worried about his general mental and physical health now. I just learned today he has cancer. And his ramblings are well problematic I have heard more lucid thoughts from patients in the psych ward.
Volaris
(10,274 posts)Which means in short order 2 things will happen:
Trump will jump back into first place in the polls over there
The Bush Campaign will start tearing into him ( trump) hardcore.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Lazy Daisy
(928 posts)I like the fact they've invited both sides.
Wonder why Carson agreed? This is not going to go over well with Republicans. If he had a chance at the nomination, he probably won't after this.