Sister Souljah, a hip-hop artist and activist who is best remembered as a target of criticism from then-candidate Bill Clinton over two decades ago, directed her fire at a different Clinton in a recent interview with TIME magazine.
In 1992, Souljah gave a Washington Post interview in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, in which she advocated killing white people. Clinton rebuked her publicly in front of a predominately black audience, comparing her to ex-KKK leader David Duke, in what was widely seen as a successful attempt to portray himself as a moderate Democrat who would not play nice with traditional liberal interest groups. It became known as Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment.
Nearly two decades later, many people are familiar with the “Sister Souljah moment,” but not the woman herself. Besides the one album she released in 1992, she’s kept a low profile, but in her sit-down with TIME, she was as fiery as ever. After being asked to weigh in on the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, Souljah raised concerned about being misquoted and then slid an index card to writer Daniel D’Addario which read: “She reminds me too much of the slave plantation white wife of the white ‘Master.’ She talks down to people, is condescending and pandering. She even talked down to the Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama, while she was under his command!”
In that same interview, Sister Souljah didn’t spare Obama either, who she reportedly described on another index card as “fearful and powerless to stop his military and police force from executing innocent people based on race.”
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The “Sister Souljah moment” catchphrase continues to pop up during political election seasons. In 2012, when GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin mentioned “legitimate rape,” some pundits suggested Romney should have called him out in the same style Clinton chastised Souljah. Although Romney called Akin’s remarks “deeply offensive,” he stopped short of saying Akin should drop out of the race.
As for Souljah, she hasn’t gotten behind anyone currently running, telling TIME she only votes when her “soul is moved to do so.”
Adam Howard