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The major issue that was ignored in the presidential debate

Despite the location of the debate, police brutality wasn't discussed.

Colin Daileda

on October 10, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Despite the location of last night's presidential debate being the center of years of police brutality protests, the topics of race or policing were not discussed.

Ferguson, Missouri, the site of roiling weeks-long protests over police brutality during the back-half of 2014, is about a 20-minute drive from Washington University St. Louis, the site of last night's second presidential debate.

Protests in Ferguson sparked years of protests against police brutality around the country and have generated near-constant conversation about racism in the United States. And yet, in last night's debate, the candidates were not explicitly asked a single question about race or policing.

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This was noticed by more than a few folks.

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Why was there no mention in the debate on police reform?One of the most talked about issues on social media&they were in #Ferguson #STL
— Bassem Masri (@bassem_masri) October 10, 2016

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The only time the debate got close to a question about race (it never got there with policing) was when an older black man asked whether each candidate could be a president for all Americans, at which point Trump launched into a response about inner cities.

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The Ferguson police shooting of a black teenager named Mike Brown may have jumpstarted modern protests against police brutality, but they have continued ever since. Just last month, Charlotte was rocked with days of demonstrations following the police shooting of a black man named Keith Scott.

Despite all this, the debate gave no indication that anything was wrong with the relationship between law enforcement and black Americans. The debate may have been in St. Louis, but it could have been anywhere.

Topics Donald Trump Elections Hillary Clinton

Colin Daileda

Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.