ATLANTA — During Friday afternoon's Southern Christian Leadership Conference Women's Empowerment Luncheon, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned statements from President Donald Trump. The president's statements this week, directed at four minority Congresswomen, have been characterized by many critics as racist.
"We saw the president use his bully pulpit to pit Americans against one another, sending racist tweets meant to demean not only Members of Congress but all people of color; all women and all immigrants," Clinton said.
In tweets on Sunday, Trump, without referring to the four women by name, said that the minority lawmakers should "go back" to the countries that they came from. This was despite the fact that three of the four representatives in question, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, were born in the United States, while the fourth, Rep. Ilhan Omar, came to the United States from Somalia and became a naturalized American citizen years ago.
"We are better than this, but we better start proving it and not just saying it," Clinton said. "The idea that it is possible for some of us to be more American than others is an out-of-date notion that should have been left behind decades ago."
This was an audience of Clinton supporters -- and she told them, realizing Dr. King's dream is still a battle worth fighting for, to win.
"But that can't just be a battle fought out on Twitter," she said. "That battle has to be fought and won at the ballot box, which is the only place that matters."
She said a more perfect union is possible.
"If we are determined to stand against the forces of darkness, to be light warriors," she said. "To make God's work on this earth our own."
No campaigning by Clinton for any Democratic candidates at the luncheon -- just her plea for people to vote.
As part of the SCLC's annual convention, a number of strong women who have worked to help the poor and those facing poverty were honored Friday afternoon during the organization's Women's Empowerment Luncheon.
This year's theme is "Women: Rising Up, to Lift Up a New Generation," and includes people whose work has been focused on helping to shorten the divide between poverty and the middle class.
Clinton was honored with the SCLC Realizing the Dream Award for her lifetime of work as well as her ongoing development of programs geared toward the poor and marginalized over the course of her career.
Other honorees at the luncheon included:
- U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-6th Dist., Ga.), a former Delta flight attendant who was inspired to run for office following the murder of her 17-year-old son at a gas station by a man who was irate over loud music coming from his car.
- Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe, a civil rights advocate who has been deeply involved in the movement ever since her mother, Viola Liuzzo, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while participating in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.
- Rose Jackson Flenorl, manager of global citizenship for FedEx Corporation. She has been instrumental in crafting and developing the company's employment pathways and global entrepreneurship programs, designed to connect under-represented individuals around the world with potential economic opportunities with FedEx.
- Dr. Rogsbert Phillips-Reed is a prominent Atlanta breast surgeon and founder of Sisters by Choice, an organization which provides breast cancer services and resources for uninsured and underserved women. Sisters by Choice says they provide over 1,000 free mammograms and breast exams to uninsured, unemployed and homeless women annually as well as free educational seminars, workshops and health fairs for promoting breast cancer awareness.
The luncheon was hosted by Cathelean Steele, founder and director of Justice For Girls, which highlights human trafficking in communities across the nation and works to educate and empower people to help end this crime which continues to permeate the streets of Atlanta and other cities. Steele is the wife of SCLC CEO Charles Steele.
The keynote speaker was 4Kira4Moms founder Charles Johnson. He founded 4Kira4Moms after his wife Kira died following what was supposed to be a routine C-section for their child's birth at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to the organization, Kira was allowed to bleed internally for more than 10 hours following the birth before medical staff took action, but by then, it was too late.
4Kira4Moms says they have dedicated themselves to improving maternal health policies and regulations for medical facilities across the nation and to educate the public about the impact of maternal mortality.
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