FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
CJ Frogozo, CJ@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 310 570 2622
Sen Lindsey Graham’s Comments Demonstrate What Happens #IfTheySpeakForMe
***VIEW #IfTheySpeakForMe VIDEOS here: https://colorofchange.org/speak/***
New York, NY — Yesterday, CNN released audio of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham recorded from a private event where he stated, “white men who are in male-only clubs are going to do great in my presidency.” Despite Graham’s claim that the statement was a joke, it provides a telling look into the modern Republican Party. ColorOfChange.org launched a program called “If They Speak For Me” earlier this month to highlight what can happen when narrow-minded politicians like Senator Graham are in control of decisions important to our communities.
Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org issued the following statement:
“Senator Graham claims his statements about ‘white men who are in male-only clubs’ were made in jest, but in every joke there is a grain of truth. While this may have been a joke, surely his voting record is not; as a Senator, Graham has routinely pushed an agenda that favors ‘white men who are in male-only clubs.’ He has blocked equal pay legislation, opposed increases to the minimum wage, and defended attacks on our freedom to vote. He even claimed to not see how Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has ‘racial injustice about it’ after listening to deeply emotional testimonies from the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis about their murdered children.”
“Graham’s comments — released as Black communities across the country prepare to head to the polls — offer important insight into how some national leaders discuss politics behind closed doors. The lack of concern for Black people, people of color and women in Graham’s comments is one of the reasons why ColorOfChange.org launched #IfTheySpeakForMe. We must demand a more inclusive political conversation, in which candidates from both parties are forced to address the issues that matter most to Black people. The Black community is a critical voting bloc and will play a pivotal role in key races across the country this election season. We cannot allow politicians to turn to Black people for votes, and then run away from the issues that are important to them afterwards.”
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With over 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.