The Democratic National Convention delegates have come together to nominate Hillary Clinton as the first female president nominee in U.S. history(!). This, of course, could not have been accomplished without some strong arguments for Clinton—one of which was the heart-wrenching address by the Mothers of the Movement.
The Mothers of the Movement—mothers of people who were killed at the hands of police or by gun violence—often give speeches about their all-too-common experiences with the issue. But on Tuesday, the mothers came together to endorse Hillary Clinton for president of the United States at the DNC.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, PBS, CNN and MSNBC all aired the emotional program before their evening shows came on, which already cover the convention. Notably missing from the lineup of channels that broadcasted this incredibly powerful address was Fox News.
While most networks showed the speech, Fox News, ever the renegade, showed instead a Poligrip commercial alongside the mothers, an interview with conservative commentator Karl Rove and a clip of Bill O’Reilly talking about immigration.
This news did not go over so well with the public. Twitter erupted, calling the decision a disgrace.
#SandraBland mother talks of police killing her daughter@FoxNews plays poligrip commercial over her #DemConventionpic.twitter.com/agQWCkReNy
— Andrew J. Padilla (@apadillafilm6) July 27, 2016
WOWW @FoxNews should be ashamed of themselves....completely switched from the #DNCinPHL during the "Mothers of the Movement" part. #agenda
— Seshmi Hayes (@SeshmiRobertson) July 27, 2016
The fact that Fox News is not showing the speeches by mothers of murdered Black children... It's pathetic #BlackLivesMatter
— Sidney Fellows (@siidn3y) July 27, 2016
However, this is not the first time Fox News has been at odds with the Black Lives Matter movement. Their political commentators have called protesters “thugs,” while infamous former officer Mark Fuhrman has been featured on the network to comment on police operations and brutality. In Baltimore, after the murder of Freddie Gray, Geraldo Rivera attempted to cover the widespread street demonstrations on behalf of the network, but was rebuffed because of his known prejudices.
In response, a Fox News representative noted that the network broadcasted some footage of the speech during Megyn Kelly’s "The Kelly File" show. However, ignoring the entire speech as it aired live was a pretty sketchy move, and may have confirmed the belief that Fox shields its viewers from different, dissenting opinions.
