I've seen some on DU make fun of Hillary's small crowds, juxtaposing photos of Bernie's huge mega rallies with photos of Hillary Clinton in smaller settings. But those small settings are often where real connections are made and much is learned. Hillary has been doing that for decades and has become a known quantity. She's known in our community as one who listens and listens intently. And then she follows up. She has a comfort level with black people that Sanders doesn't have. She has blacks on her staff and in her inner circle and always has. People can see that in those small settings.

Sanders, on the other hand, has spent very little time with African Americans and it shows. He was known in the Senate for not having many black staffers, when he had any at all. In Vermont, that wouldn't be surprising, but his DC office was also surprisingly non-diverse. It's not that anyone thinks he's racist - he isn't by any stretch of the imagination - but minorities just aren't his radar screen.

And yes, he talks about jobs and policing. But those are only a narrow band of issues that concern African Americans - and those issues don't impact all blacks and, in fact, too much focus on them give the impression that we're being stereotyped and pigeon-holed. He does not talk about racial division and structural racism that plagues this country and will not be addressed by narrowing the gap between rich and poor. People have made very clear that these are serious issues in the black community, but the response from him and his campaign is usually to just keep talking about what they want to talk about without responding or adjusting their message to what we're really interested in. That's why people keep saying he's tone deaf.

Black people don't have it out for Bernie, so when we say that he isn't connecting or needs to adjust, it's not a slam or a plot. Yet his supporters treat us as if we are either stupid or out to get him because we're in the tank for Hillary - as if we are naive children who can't figure out on our own what's in our best interests and have been hoodwinked by the clever Clintons.