Bernie Sanders talks civil rights, helping 'poorest of the poor' at historic Penn Center

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders evoked the rich history of the Penn Center at a campaign stop Sunday afternoon on St. Helena Island as he called on the crowd of hundreds to help him lift up those who are vulnerable and in need.

Sanders, the junior senator in Vermont, pressed the issue of juvenile and criminal justice reform, which he envisions including an end to the private prison industry, the death penalty and criminalization of simple drug possession.

Those systems that disproportionately impact blacks and other minorities serve as remnants of institutional racism and do not serve the country, Sanders said.

"We are going to do everything that we can so when an African-American gets in a car, he doesn't get dragged out of that car because he failed to make the wrong turns and up in jail and dead three days later," Sanders said, referencing the July death of Sandra Bland in Waller County, Texas. "We are going to end the disgrace of unarmed African-Americans that are shot in the back or dying in police custody."

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On Sunday, hundreds of people filled the space, lining the walls and craning their necks through the doorways to hear Sanders say that work is not done.


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