Clinton pledges criminal justice reform in NAACP speech

In a speech tailored for an African-American audience at the national NAACP convention Monday, Hillary Clinton went into great detail to illustrate the differences between her and her opponent in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump.

Clinton even went into detail to explain how she is detail-oriented.

"I have this old-fashioned idea: if you're running for president, you should say exactly what you want to do and how you will get it done," she told a receptive crowd measuring in the thousands at the Duke Energy Convention Center. "I do sweat the specifics because I think they matter."

That jab — he lacks specifics — was one of several the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee took at Trump, who will receive the Republican nomination this week at the party's convention in Cleveland.

In her 30-minute remarks to the NAACP, Clinton called for sweeping reform of the nation's criminal justice system. She spoke in detail about revamping police training to avoid using force and reduce implicit bias against African-Americans. She said she would work to get semi-automatic guns off the streets. She said she would invest in re-entry programs to create jobs and opportunity for people returning from prison. She also said she would "ban the box" in the federal government, referring to a question on job applications about criminal background. Another Clinton proposal calls for eliminating the disparity in sentencing for offenses involving crack and powder cocaine which negatively affect African-Americans. She even veered briefly into race-based health disparities that adversely affect African-Americans.

Clinton made sure to express her support for law enforcement in general. She referred to the shooting of police officers in Dallas during a peaceful Black Lives Matter march and mentioned the names of the three police officers killed Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"This madness has to stop," Clinton said.

She called the issue of police-community relations a complex one and recognized the legitimacy of the fear many African-Americans have for police. She twice mentioned Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, black men killed recently by police in Baton Rouge and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

Clinton received several loud and standing ovations but none bigger than when she called a potential Trump presidency "a threat to our democracy."

Clifton concluded her case against her opponent in the presidential election by saying, "It all adds up to an undeniable conclusion: I don't care if you're a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent — Donald Trump cannot become president of the United States."

The NAACP, as a nonprofit, cannot endorse candidates, thought it can support specific policies and programs. The warm reception given the former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York reflected the support for Clinton among African-Americans that shows in polling numbers.

As reported Sunday on Cincinnati.com, Clinton laid out a plan to register 3 million voters for the 2016 election and said her campaign has 500 registration events planned for this week, from "minor league baseball games, college campuses, barber shops, hair salons, street corners."

Before Clinton spoke, NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks gave an address that was part political stump speech and sermon. He laid out a five-point plan that candidates must pledge to follow within their first 100 days in office. The measures are to terminate federal funding for law enforcement agencies guilty of racial discrimination, force departments to provide the U.S. Department of Justice with internal investigation documents, create a national police brutality database, write a federal use-of-force code that all departments follow and establish a federal independent review board to investigate shootings of unarmed civilians.

Without mentioning Brooks' five-point proposal by name, Clinton said she would create measures that would hold police departments accountable for their actions, referring specifically to Ferguson, Missouri, where an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, was killed by police. She said she would require departments to provide information on deaths, mentioning the case of black female motorist Sandra Bland. She was stopped by police and later found hanged in her Texas jail cell, her death ruled a suicide. Clinton also said she would create national use-of-force guidelines.

"So I pledge to you," Clinton said midway through her speech, "that I will start taking action on Day 1 and every day after until we get this done."

The Republican National Committee released a statement in response to Clinton's NAACP remarks.

"Hillary Clinton's platitudes on gun control and public safety will not ensure an America in which both civilians and law enforcement can feel safe in their own neighborhoods," it read. "Donald Trump wants to restore law and order to our communities and Make America Safe Again."

Clinton portrayed herself several times as the candidate who would  unify the country across racial, religious and economic lines. She made reference to white privilege and said white Americans "need to do a better job of listening when African-Americans talk about the seen and unseen barriers you face every day. We need to recognize our privilege and practice humility."

Trump, she said, would not heal the country but rather exacerbate divisions.

"He might say otherwise if he were here," Clinton said, "but, of course, he declined your invitation."