On Saturday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced that his campaign had selected Symone Sanders (no relation to Bernie), as its national press secretary.
Symone Sanders has a background in criminal justice and serves as the national youth chair for the Nebraska Coalition on Juvenile Justice. Symone introduced Bernie in Seattle this weekend about racial inequality.
“You know which candidate for president will shut down the private prison industry,” she said. “You know which candidate will have the courage to fight unjust mandatory minimums and the death penalty.”
Analysts suggest that, although the process for hiring Symone has been underway for weeks, the Sanders campaign may be working to align itself more closely with Black Lives Matter issues.
Symone’s influence on the campaign can already be felt, she told Buzzfeed.
“One of my suggestions, he took it and ran with it on ‘Meet the Press,’ is that racial inequality and economic inequality are parallel issues,” said Symone. “I [told him,] you know, economic equality is an issue. It’s something we need to address. But for some people it doesn’t matter how much you make, it doesn’t matter where you went to school, it doesn’t matter what your parents do. It doesn’t matter that Sandra Bland has a job and was on her way to teach for her alma mater. It doesn’t matter. None of that matters.”
