Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton sat down with the parents of slain African-Americans in a private meeting to discuss criminal justice reform and gun control.
According to CNN, the mothers of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were all present at the two-hour meeting, which took place yesterday in Chicago.
“Clinton is a mother, and she is a woman, and I felt she understood where we were coming from,” Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, told CNN. “It doesn’t matter what color we are; I felt that she really understand where we are coming from.”
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According to a campaign staffer, Clinton listened to the mothers’ stories and used the opportunity to brainstorm ways to repair the mistrust between law enforcement officials and minority communities.
“I think that all the work that the mothers are doing on behalf of our loved ones, it’s working,” Maria Hamilton, the mother of Dontre Hamilton who was fatally shot in Milwaukee last year, said to CNN. “People are asking to hear our stories. People are asking to find out what kind of legislation and policies we are changing…We are hoping that her being a mother, being a grandmother that once she gets in office, [she] can be effective to help all people. Not just the Black people, Hispanic people—everybody.”