MSNBC "The Ed Show"- Transcript: Black Lives Matter

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Senator Sanders, candidate for president, great to have you with us
tonight.

SANDERS: Good to be with you.

SCHULTZ: Senator, what specific reforms in policing would you want to see
or what you are calling for?

SANDERS: Oh there`s a lot that we have to do Ed. We have more people in
jail than any other country on Earth. Millions of lives have been
destroyed because people are in jail for nonviolent crimes so we have to
take a look at mandatory minimums. We have to take a whole new look, I
think in our drug policy. We have to look at the militarization of police
forces all over this country. We have to take a look at use of force
policy. That`s what you saw in that dreadful and painful video of Sandra
Bland.

What you saw is an aggressive, overactive police officer, who dragged this
woman out of her car, assaulted her, sent her to jail for what crime? A
minor traffic violation. That happens all over this country. And it
especially happens to people of color.

So we need a real hard look at the way police departments function in
America. And we need to figure out a way that -- in terms of how we treat
African-Americans so that young people can walk down the street without
having to worry about whether they`re going to be harassed or shot in the
back. We got a lot of work in front of us.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Senator, we reached out to the Black Lives Matter movement
and we asked DeRay McKesson if he had a question for you what would it be?
And it came back. You advocate for free public colleges for all but how do
you address that fact that black degree holders are less likely to be
employed or paid equal wages. What`s your response to that?

SANDERS: Well, he`s absolutely right. That`s called structural racism and
we have to address it. Providing free tuition at public colleges and
universities will be a huge step forward for this country and the African-
American community. But what we also have to do is to make sure that when
people apply for a job they are not discriminated against because of their
race or their country of origin. And obviously the other thing that we
have to do, Ed, is that when 51 percent of young African-American kids that
graduated high school are unemployed, we need a jobs program to put those
young people to work.

But getting back to that really painful video of Sandra Bland, one could
not imagine. It would be very hard to imagine a white middle class woman
being treated in the same way as Sandra Bland was.

SCHULTZ: OK. Senator, do you have a problem with black voters? Is this
going to be a real stumbling block for your campaign? And if so, what are
you going to do to reach out to them?

SANDERS: We are working -- look, I come from a state which is 95 percent
white. That`s just the simple reality. We`ve only been in this race for
president for about two and a half months. So we have a lot of work to do
to reach out to the African-American community and the Hispanic community.
But I`m very proud. I`m proud of the record that I have established in all
of my years in Congress. I`m proud of the fact that I have been a leader
in the fight for civil rights and social justice in this country.

We are going to get that record out to the American people. And I believe
at the end of the day, we`re going to have a significant amount of support
from the African-American and the Hispanic communities because the agenda
that we are proposing is going to be very, very meaningful to them.

SCHULTZ: And Senator, the incident that took place last weekend in
Phoenix, what`s your reaction to that? Did that blindside you and critics
say that you do?

SANDERS: Well of course it did.

SCHULTZ: And critics say that you missed the point.

SANDERS: Well, look I was there and invited to be there to talk about
immigration reform. That`s what I was invited to do. So was I blindsided,
was I surprised? Of course I was. On the other hand, the issue that the
folks there were raising about institutional racism in America is an
absolutely vital issue that has got to be addressed than I intent to
address it. As I said I said a moment ago, our criminal justice system is
out of control. The number of African-Americans and Hispanics who are in
jails are disproportionately high.

We have got to from A to Z rethink criminal justice in America so we do not
end up having far more people in jail than any other country. Lives are
being destroyed right and left and we got to change that.

SCHULTZ: And finally Senator, here in New York a panel appointed by
Governor Andrew Cuomo just recommended the minimum wage be raised to $15
for fast -- $15 an hour for fast food restaurant employees. You introduced
a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Is this catching
fire?

SANDERS: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: Is this and why is this such critical time for that?

SANDERS: In fact, we just had a rally here on Capitol Hill with about a
thousand workers. Many of them whom work for contractors of the federal
government. Look, 725 minimum wage is a starvation wage. And I`m really
happy to see that as a result of grassroots activism, Seattle, Los Angeles,
now New York have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The legislation that I and Keith Allison (inaudible) to introduce today
would do that nationally. Nobody who works 40 hours a week in America
should be living in poverty, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Senator Bernie Sanders, on the Ed Show. Appreciate your time
your time tonight sir. Thanks so much, Bernie.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source