Sharpton: Sanders ‘did not address’ how

Geneva Reed-Veal will join the Democratic presidential candidate at a February 17 voter mobilization event in Chicago. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, waves to media and supporters after a breakfast meeting with Al Sharpton at Sylvia’s Restaurant, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in the Harlem neighborhood of NY. It looked to be a smoother meeting than some of the ones Sanders has had with African-American activists in the past.

On Tuesday night, Sanders defeated his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points.

Sanders needs African-American support in time for the February 27 primary in SC, where black voters make up more than 50 percent of the state’s registered Democrats.

The senator from Vermont sat down with Sharpton on the morning after soundly defeating former Secretary of State Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. “I do not want black concerns to be moved out with them”, Sharpton, a Baptist minister and television talk show host, told reporters afterwards.

Sanders already has intensified his efforts to reach black voters with more campaign stops before African-American audiences and ads on black-oriented radio stations.

Clinton also carries into the fight against Sanders not only the pressure of proving she has a renewed rational for her second White House bid, but the optics of doing it as the wife of a man often referred to as America’s “first black president”.

Sander has tried to improve his standing with African-American voters. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) and Benjamin Jealous, a former president of the NAACP. Rapper Killer Mike sometimes introduces Sanders at rallies, and academic Cornel West has also campaigned for him.

Even some Sanders supporters have expressed fears that a vote for him could allow Republicans to win the election. The Clinton campaign, trying to pivot after Tuesday’s takedown in New Hampshire, held a Wednesday afternoon call with reporters in which three black surrogates offered an unvarnished assessment of Sanders and his record.

“We recognize we are moving to a bigger stage, but it’s another opportunity for him to spread his message”.

“One of the things that I was saying to Senator Sanders is saying that you’ve got to deal with income inequality and wages is fine, but what about the race element of that?”

“We definitely don’t choose sides”, said Woods-Black who said she saw the restaurant’s role as a place for the community to come touch policy makers.

“I’ll vote for Hillary unless I feel Bernie has a good shot”, she said.