Hillary Clinton and Black Lives
Matter representatives

In a Black Lives Matter movement interview with Hilary Clinton she misrepresents what the spokesperson was saying and he calls her on it: “That’s not what I mean. But like what I’m saying is you just said was a form of victim-blaming. Right you were saying that what the Black Lives Matter movement needs to do to change white hearts—“ Ms. Clinton responds with this statement: “Look I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart. You’re not. But at the end of the day, we could do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them, to live up to their own God-given potential, to live safely without fear of violence in their own communities, to have a decent school, to have a decent house, to have a decent future. So we can do it one of many ways. You can keep the movement going, which you have started, and through it you may actually change some hearts. But if that’s all that happens, we’ll be back here in 10 years having the same conversation. We will not have all of the changes that you deserve to see happen in your lifetime because of your willingness to get out there and talk about this “

In my Christian faith, in the Gospel and in my Catholic Worker teaching I was always taught that real change starts with a change of heart or ‘metanoia” in the Gospel. Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement says: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution, a revolution which has to start with each one of us.” We need an understanding of the racial prejudice in our own hearts first. You can have all the laws, allocation of resources and change the way systems operate but without self-understanding racism will remain deep in our hearts.

I heard today how a medical school in San Francisco had a course helping students identify racial prejudice in the subconscious that can lead to treating black different than whites. They have developed a number of test that can tap on the inner awareness and prejudices. One student from Iran took the tests in two areas, color of skin and religious prejudice figuring she would score well. The test showed she had a bias for skin color and an anti-Muslin bias.

The mass incarceration of blacks under name of “War on Drugs” had a major boost during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Drug laws were passed that made it easier to sentence a black offender of drugs to a longer term than a white offender. There is a movement to reverse these laws, however, Ms. Clinton refused to acknowledge these laws, let alone state that they were racial prejudiced.

I also heard on Public Radio today a black woman who was present during the interview. She was surprised at the racial prejudice against blacks Hillary Clinton demonstrated, probably unconsciously. Hillary kept blaming the movement for not advocating for laws and legislatures.

Ammon Hennesy, another well-known Catholic Worker, said: “to change the world by bullets or ballots was a useless procedure…. He told all who would hear that what the world needed was for a revolution to take place in each person’s heart that would transform individuals to lead courageous, compassionate, liberated lives, acting free of the state and of its violence. “The only revolution worthwhile,” he wrote, “was the one-man revolution within the heart.”

What Ms. Clinton needs, in my opinion, is a “change of heart.” Since she does not believe that a change of heart matters she will not understand the Black Lives Matter movement.

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