Sister Souljah Moment
The political doings from this date, eighteen years ago, concern the origin of a new phrase in the political lexicon, a "Sister Souljah Moment," defined by Wikipedia as "a politician's public repudiation of an allegedly extremist person or group, statement, or position perceived to have some association with the politician or their party."
In the 1992 election between incumbent President George H. W. Bush and then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, one of the current events was the Los Angeles Riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers charged with assaulting Rodney King. A video of King being beaten by LAPD officers had led to charges against four police officers. When the officers were acquitted, six days of riots in Los Angeles followed.
Sister Souljah (born Lisa Williamson) was an American hip-hop artist and political activist. When interviewed by the Washington Post about the riots, she remarked in an article published on May 13, 1992: "If Black people kill Black people every day, why not have a week and kill White people?"
Bill Clinton responded to these remarks in a speech he was giving at an event at Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. “If you took the words ‘white’ and ‘black,’ and you reversed them, you might think [white supremacist] David Duke was giving that speech.”
Clinton's response was criticized by Jackson, who said Sister Souljah "represents the feelings and hopes of a whole generation of people" and claimed that she had been misquoted. Clinton was also criticized by some of the Democratic Party's other African American supporters. Clinton was accused by Sister Souljah of being a racist and a hypocrite because he had golfed at a country club that refused to admit black members. One June 16, 1992 she called Clinton a "draft dodging, pot smoking womanizer."
The text of Sister Souljah's statement criticizing President Clinton can be found here.
In the 1992 election between incumbent President George H. W. Bush and then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, one of the current events was the Los Angeles Riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers charged with assaulting Rodney King. A video of King being beaten by LAPD officers had led to charges against four police officers. When the officers were acquitted, six days of riots in Los Angeles followed.
Sister Souljah (born Lisa Williamson) was an American hip-hop artist and political activist. When interviewed by the Washington Post about the riots, she remarked in an article published on May 13, 1992: "If Black people kill Black people every day, why not have a week and kill White people?"
Bill Clinton responded to these remarks in a speech he was giving at an event at Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. “If you took the words ‘white’ and ‘black,’ and you reversed them, you might think [white supremacist] David Duke was giving that speech.”
Clinton's response was criticized by Jackson, who said Sister Souljah "represents the feelings and hopes of a whole generation of people" and claimed that she had been misquoted. Clinton was also criticized by some of the Democratic Party's other African American supporters. Clinton was accused by Sister Souljah of being a racist and a hypocrite because he had golfed at a country club that refused to admit black members. One June 16, 1992 she called Clinton a "draft dodging, pot smoking womanizer."
The text of Sister Souljah's statement criticizing President Clinton can be found here.