Hillary Clinton, in push for black support, promises to tackle racial disparities [View all]

[bravenak]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-blacks-idUSKCN0VP2JZ

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton courted the critical black vote on Tuesday as she met with civil rights leaders in New York and promised in a speech to tackle "very real barriers" confronting African-Americans.

Clinton is seeking to maintain her lead among black voters over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her rival for the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democrat Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president.

The Clinton campaign said last week: "It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for a Democrat to win the nomination without strong levels of support among African-American and Hispanic voters."

Clinton's status as the Democratic front-runner was jolted this month when the former secretary of state beat Sanders by less than a percentage point in Iowa's caucuses and lost to him by more than 20 points in the New Hampshire primary. More than 90 percent of people in those states are white.