Fresh off a big primary win in Wisconsin and with Pennsylvania remaining among the must win states for him, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was in Philadelphia Wednesday, where he chose an historic black church to address supporters and renew his commitment to the black vote, a demographic he has struggled with but one that remains key to any chance of winning.
Still riding high from the night before, when he routed Democratic presidential opponent Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, Sanders arrived at the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church on South Broad Street here for an event billed by his camp as a "community conversation." In roughly an hour, he touched on everything from the War on Drugs to reparations, police brutality and the disproportionately high unemployment rates in places like inner-city Philadelphia, known to locals as the "poorest big city in America."
Sanders, who was celebrated for his civil rights activism by much of the crowd, and introduced by Bishop Dwayne D. Royster as the man "who went to jail for us" in the 1960s, pledged his support for federal reviews of every police killing, efforts to demilitarize American police departments and "changing the culture of police violence."
Sanders also vowed to push for changes in how drug laws are enforced and how marijuana is scheduled, in an attempt to lessen the punishments for possession. When asked, he also promised to formally apologize for slavery if elected.
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Robert Hunter said like Jordan he was undecided but leaning toward Sanders. He was also surprised by how wide-ranging Wednesday's event was, covering, as he put it, "everything from weed to reparations." Hunter was also pleased with Sanders' responses to questions from attendees and liked how the candidate handled himself.