Black Lives Matter mothers movingly endorse Clinton

The Mothers of the Movement, a group of women who lost sons and daughters in high profile cases of gun violence or excessive force from police, made a series of impassioned speeches championing Hillary Clinton at the Democratic convention Tuesday.

“She knows that when a young black life is cut short, it's not just a loss, it's a personal loss, it's a national loss. It’s a loss that diminishes all of us," Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland, who was found hanging in a jail cell in 2015 after being arrested for a minor traffic violation.

"What a blessing tonight, to be standing here, so that Sandy can still speak through her mama," she added, fighting back tears.

The nine women took to the stage as representatives of the Black Lives Matter movement and threw their full support behind Clinton, the candidate "who will say our children's names."

Like Reed-Veal, several spoke movingly about their personal loss before talking about why they will vote for the Democratic candidate in November.

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Before Reed-Veal began, she hushed an impassioned crowd shouting "Black Lives Matter."

"One year ago yesterday, I lived the worst nightmare anyone could imagine," she told the crowd. "I watched as my daughter, Sandra Bland, was lowered into the ground in a coffin."

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Lucia McBath, the mother of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was "shot and killed for playing loud music" by a bystander at a gas station who used Florida's so-called "stand-your-ground" law for his defense in 2012, reminisced about her son's penchant for practical jokes and love for God before moving on to Clinton.

She "isn't afraid to say that black lives matter" and "does not build walls around her heart," McBath said.

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Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton spoke as well. Seventeen-year-old Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012, who also used Florida's stand-your-ground law as a defense.

Calling herself an "unwilling participant in this movement," Fulton said that "Hillary Clinton has the compassion and understanding to support grieving mothers" and "the courage to lead the fight for common sense gun legislation."

"This isn't about being politically correct, this is about saving our children," she added.

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