Eric Garner's Daughter Stars in Powerful Sanders Campaign Ad

By Adam Edelman, New York Daily News

12 February 16

ernie Sanders has released a dramatic new ad featuring an impassioned plea by Erica Garner, the daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner, for Americans to vote for the surging progressive presidential candidate.

The four-minute online ad begins with Garner talking about her daughter having learned about the civil rights struggle in the U.S. in school.

"She just learned about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King," says Garner, sporting a black sweatshirt emblazoned with her father's last words — "I can't breathe." "I had to explain to her that it's not really over."

Garner, who endorsed Sanders' White House bid last month, then invokes her father's death, explaining that her backing of the Vermont senator can help "get the truth out to tell (Eric Garner's) side of the story."

"My dad's name is Eric Garner," she says as quiet piano music plays in the background. "No one gets to see their parent's last moments. I was able to see my dad die on national TV."

"They don't know what they took from us," Garner continues. "He wasn't just someone. He was loved dearly … I'm just trying to get the truth out to tell his side of the story."

"He was murdered," she adds. "I never want the world to forget what happened to my dad."

Garner then explains why she feels Sanders is the best choice for the presidency.

"I'm behind anyone who is going to listen, who is going to speak up for us," she says. "I think we need to believe in a leader like Bernie Sanders."

"People are dying. This is real. We need a president that will talk about it," she says. "I believe Bernie Sanders is a protester. He's not scared to go up against the criminal justice system. He is not scared."

Garner first announced her support of Sanders last month, penning an emotional editorial in The Washington Post about how "Black Americans — all Americans — need a leader with a record that speaks for itself."

"And to me, it's clear. Of all the presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders is our strongest ally," she wrote of the self-identified "Socialist Democrat."

Garner's 43-year-old father died on July 17, 2014, after his arrest for selling illegal loose cigarettes on Staten Island.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo applied a chokehold to take Garner down, and he died a short time later.

The younger Garner's endorsement comes amid a tight race for the Democratic nomination.

Sanders crushed rival Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary and lost the last Iowa caucuses last week by a razor-thin margin.

In recent days, the pair of pols have been sparring over who could best represent the interest of African-Americans, with each racking up several endorsements from leaders influential in the community.

Earlier Thursday, Clinton, picked up a high-profile endorsement from a committee within the Congressional Black Caucus, while Sanders, a day earlier, broke bread in Harlem with the Rev. Al Sharpton.