Hillary Clinton accepted the SCLC's Recognizing the Dream award in Atlanta on Friday.

Hillary Clinton accepted the SCLC's Recognizing the Dream award in Atlanta on Friday. / Associated Press

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared in Atlanta Friday to accept an award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Clinton was given the organization’s Recognizing the Dream award.

During her acceptance speech, she said the fight for equality and justice is just as important now as it was when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected president of the organization in 1957.

"It is a time to reassert our commitment to the future that will realize the dream, but to recognize that the work is never over,” Clinton said. “I think some of us, we’re a little surprised that we have to be having the same conversations, arguing over the same points but that is the hand we have been dealt.”

She challenged the SCLC to be the north star in that fight. Clinton also went after President Donald Trump for sending “racist tweets” in which he told four Democratic, congresswomen of color, “if you are not happy here, you can leave.”

“We saw the president use his bully pulpit to pit Americans against one another,” Clinton said. “The tweets were meant to demean not only members of Congress, but all people of color, all women and all immigrants.”

She said the country is better than this but “we better start proving it and not just saying it” and the idea of someone being more American based on where they were born is outdated.

Trump has since defended his comments saying his tweets were not racist. He also said he didn’t like when his supporter at a rally in North Carolina started chanting “send her back.”

Clinton wasn’t the only politician to receive an award the SCLC’s 61st meeting.

Congresswoman Lucy McBath, of Georgia’s 6th District, received the humanitarian award for her work against gun violence.

McBath’s son was 17 when he was shot and killed at a gas station in Florida following an argument over his music being too loud.

“It was painful for me to tell my story again and again,” McBath said. “Losing my son in such a senseless way reinforced my sense of the necessity of political engagement. Thankfully sharing my pain and my story has made an impact.”

McBath told attendees they all have stories to share and doing so will also leave an impact on others.  

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was another recipient. She received the SCLC’s Civil Servant award.

Tags: Lucy McBath  Southern Christian Leadership Conference  Hillary Clinton  Atlanta  Georgia