Hillary Clinton used opponent Donald Trump’s own words against him in a series of recent campaign ads. But in her newest commercial, released Wednesday evening, the Democratic presidential nominee lets stars of the African American community speak for themselves.
The minute-long spot, titled “What Will You Say,” is directed by Academy Award winner Lee Daniels and features the actors of “Empire,” Fox’s hit show featuring a predominantly black cast. The ad reminds African Americans what’s at stake in next month’s election and why it’s vital to vote.
“What will I tell my son?” Taraji P. Henson, the star of “Empire,” asks in the ad. “What will you tell your daughter? What will we tell the future generation?”
Henson is followed by Bryshere Gray, who lists the names of several people whose high-profile deaths have fanned the Black Lives Matter movement, including Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray and Philando Castile.
The spot addresses issues important to the Clinton camp, including closing loopholes on gun laws, upholding Obamacare, protecting women’s rights and fighting intolerance. “There’s only one person in this race who said Black Lives Matter,” Gray reminds viewers.
These issues, the ad suggests, are strong reasons to vote.
“So many women and men died for us to have the right to vote,” Daniels says in the ad. “Every time we sit out, we dishonor their sacrifices.”
This ad comes days after Clinton appealed to the African American community during a weekend visit to a black church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and fielded a question from a black mother during a town hall near Philadelphia on Tuesday.
“The gun violence is real for me as a mother,” the woman told Clinton during the town hall, adding that her children could be “minding their own business,” but still get “pulled over by police.”
“What she is talking about is what black parents live with every day,” Clinton replied. “I was in Charlotte on Sunday, and was speaking at a church, and I said: ‘Look, I have these two absolutely wonderful grandchildren. I will never have to sit them down and tell them to be afraid, to be careful.’”
Above, watch the cast of “Empire” appeal to the black community and make the case for Clinton.
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