Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, former first lady, senator, and secretary of state, defines mass incarceration as an epidemic of racial bias in which a third of black men will go to prison during their lifetimes, mostly for low-level, nonviolent offenses. Republican presidential nominee and businessman, Donald Trump, has not addressed mass incarceration, but has frequently commented on America’s high violent crime rate, especially attacks on law enforcement. In her speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Clinton pledged to reform the criminal justice system from end-to-end and strengthen the bonds of trust between communities and police. In his Republican nomination acceptance speech, Trump vowed to restore law and order.
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The organization describes mass incarceration as a form of state violence, state violence being the state’s intentional dehumanization and deprivation of institutional power of black people. Black Lives Matter was created in the aftermath of the shooting death of black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by white neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in response to Martin’s vilification. The organization grew in the wake of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, at the hands of Darren Wilson, a white police officer, and has continued to grow as a result of other incidents of police violence against blacks. Black Lives Matter’s connections to Black Liberation Movement groups, including its slogan and protests, have caused some to label it as a domestic terror organization. Much contention surrounds whether the motto ‘black lives matter’ is anti-police, anti-white, and anti-establishment or reflects a particular vulnerability of blacks that relates to the experiences of all people of color within a white supremacist society. And there have been several instances of the organization 's protests turning violent, such as the violent protest that ensued the shooting and killing of black 37-year-old Alton Sterling by white police officers Howie Lake II and Blane Salomoni. To Black Lives Matter, state violence is a liability for black life and the organization is working to rebuild black will and political power. Its recently released new policy platform demands an “end to the war on black people” including “an end to all jails, prisons, and detention facilities as we know them.” Black Lives Matter states that the use of prisons and long sentences as catch-all solutions to social problems has devastated incarcerated communities. Regarding action at the state level, the organization mentions New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2011 plan to close seven state prisons
The organization describes mass incarceration as a form of state violence, state violence being the state’s intentional dehumanization and deprivation of institutional power of black people. Black Lives Matter was created in the aftermath of the shooting death of black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by white neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in response to Martin’s vilification. The organization grew in the wake of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, at the hands of Darren Wilson, a white police officer, and has continued to grow as a result of other incidents of police violence against blacks. Black Lives Matter’s connections to Black Liberation Movement groups, including its slogan and protests, have caused some to label it as a domestic terror organization. Much contention surrounds whether the motto ‘black lives matter’ is anti-police, anti-white, and anti-establishment or reflects a particular vulnerability of blacks that relates to the experiences of all people of color within a white supremacist society. And there have been several instances of the organization 's protests turning violent, such as the violent protest that ensued the shooting and killing of black 37-year-old Alton Sterling by white police officers Howie Lake II and Blane Salomoni. To Black Lives Matter, state violence is a liability for black life and the organization is working to rebuild black will and political power. Its recently released new policy platform demands an “end to the war on black people” including “an end to all jails, prisons, and detention facilities as we know them.” Black Lives Matter states that the use of prisons and long sentences as catch-all solutions to social problems has devastated incarcerated communities. Regarding action at the state level, the organization mentions New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2011 plan to close seven state prisons