WATCH: Bill Clinton Tells 'Black Lives Matter' Protesters They Are 'Afraid Of The Truth'
PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton engaged in a heated exchange on Thursday with "Black Lives Matter" protesters upset about welfare reform and gun violence laws passed when he was in office 20 years ago.
Addressing supporters at a Hillary Clinton presidential rally in Philadelphia, Bill Clinton was interrupted by people in the crowd holding signs reading "Clinton crime bill destroyed our communities" and "Welfare reform increased poverty."
"They say the Welfare Reform Bill increased poverty. Then why did we have the largest drop in African-American poverty in history when I was president?" Bill Clinton said, whose voice began to get raspy.
As first lady, Hillary Clinton said in a 1996 speech about the crime bill, "They are often the kinds of kids that are called super-predators." Some blacks have found the term "super-predators" offensive and have tried to hold her accountable during her presidential campaign. She was interrupted at a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, in February by an activist who wanted her to apologize for her remarks.
Critics of the 1994 anti-crime bill have tied it to mass incarceration disproportionately affecting blacks. Bill Clinton said he talked at the time to black groups, which endorsed the legislation, and he said the bill led to a decrease in crime and murders due to gun violence.
"I don't know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out on the street to murder other African-American children," Bill Clinton told the crowd. "Maybe you thought they were good citizens. She didn't. You are defending the people who killed the lives you say matter. Tell the truth."
The former president added, "Here's the thing, I like protesters. But the ones who won't let you answer are afraid of the truth."
Clinton, a Democrat, said that the majority of people serving disparate sentences for crack cocaine are in state prisons and jails. He said that President Barack Obama, also a Democrat, is working to release federal prisoners serving unfairly lengthy sentences.
"Who do you think those lives were that mattered?" Clinton asked the protesters. "Whose lives were saved that mattered? Hillary didn't vote for that bill, because she wasn't in the Senate."
He continued, "If you think it was bad in the 1990s, if you think record increases in income and record-low unemployment, record decreases in poverty, and record small businesses forming was bad, you ought to go with them, otherwise you better elect Hillary president so we can get this economy going again."
Hillary Clinton is battling Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination. Their contest, with accusations of lying, hustling for money and failed leadership, has taken a decidedly negative turn, and they recently have exchanged a series of barbs over qualifications for the presidency.
According to CBS News, Hillary Clinton has a sizable delegate lead over Sanders -- 1,748 to 1,052.
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