The impact of ‘Black Lives Matter’ on Democratic convention

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• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  What started as a Twitter hashtag in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin has grown into an activist protest organization, with increasing influence.

  John Yang has our report.

• JOHN YANG:

  Less than 10 miles from the Democratic Convention, demonstrators remind delegates, black lives matter.

• WOMAN:

  They need to pay attention to the will of the people.

• MAN:

  We need a radical new system, because the one we have is broken, and it's not working for any of us here in America.

• JOHN YANG:

  The issue of race relations looms over this presidential campaign, driven by the high-profile deaths of black men and women at the hands of police, which triggered demonstrations like this one.

  Just last week, Hillary Clinton stressed her commitment to the African-American community after police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

  HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), Presidential Nominee: We white Americans need to do a better job of listening when African-Americans talk about the seen and unseen barriers you face every day.

• JOHN YANG:

  During the primaries, Black Lives Matter protesters confronted both Clinton and her rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

  Representative Barbara Lee understands their demands.

• REP. BARBARA LEE (D-Cali.):

  Young people involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, they're holding us all accountable to an agenda to make this country better.

• JOHN YANG:

  Shaun Harper is director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

  SHAUN HARPER, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education: I think that, from that moment onward, that both Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton understood this is a movement to be taken seriously.

• JOHN YANG:

  Retaliation against the police has created a tension between supporting the victims of police shootings and supporting law enforcement.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang in Philadelphia.