Black Twitter wasn't thrilled with Hillary Clinton's appearance at Black Girls Rock! in April, but the founder of the non-profit, Beverly Bond, believes the Democratic presidential hopeful's outreach to women of color is coming from a good place.
During her appearance, Clinton attested to the importance of black women and spoke out against the "discrimination" and "systemic racism" that can hold women of color back. While some have questioned her sincerity, Bond said she thinks Clinton's words were "genuine and sincere."
"I can't speak for other places and spaces she's been to, but I think she sincerely wanted to be a part of what we were doing with Black Girls Rock!," Bond said to The Huffington Post's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani at the 15th annual Women Who Care Awards. "She's also a very good friend of the network president, and she has a lot of women of color who are supportive of her and that are in her cabinet and that work with her."
Through her work with Black Girls Rock!, Bond said she hopes to bolster positive media messages about black women and combat "self esteem issues" and "lack of confidence," which were two issues she said she's faced during her wide-ranging career.
"It took me a long time, even through my adult years, even through starting Black Girls Rock! to kind of grow into my leadership," she said. "People are always surprised because they think that I'm just this empowered woman, but it actually took me a really long time to get there, and even now I struggle a little bit. What I always try to teach girls is what I've been through."
Hear more from Bond's interview in the video above.
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