NEW YORK (AP) – It wasn’t a giant rally with screaming supporters, celebrity friends and a feisty candidate. But the small gathering on behalf of Hillary Clinton in a Brooklyn church still reverberated with emotion.
Sitting in the airy chapel at Mount Ararat Church in Brooklyn, the crowd heard from five women who had lost their children to gun violence or after contact with the police, including the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner. One by one, they shared stories of loss and grief and argued Clinton was the candidate best prepared to take on gun violence and reshape the criminal justice system.
“She was the only candidate that reached out to us,” said Sybrina Fulton, whose 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012. “That showed us that our tragedies were important.” She said: “It’s important that we let our voices be heard and you absolutely can do that at the polls.”
More than a dozen of these women have dubbed themselves the “Mothers of the Movement.” They met privately with Clinton and each other last year at a Chicago restaurant, pouring out their stories while the Democratic presidential contender took notes. Though Clinton didn’t directly ask for endorsements at the time, the women decided to get involved and have campaigned for her in South Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio. Clinton’s campaign pays their travel expenses.
They spent the weekend before Tuesday’s New York primary at churches and block parties around New York City, pushing for strong turnout from black voters, who heavily support Clinton and could give her an edge.