Could her support have something to do with her skin color?

Via The Hill:

Last month, affiliated members stunned a liberal audience gathered in Phoenix for a Netroots Nation conference, shouting down both former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Sanders with calls for a greater focus on black empowerment.

Last weekend that scene repeated for Sanders when activists stormed his stage in Seattle, hijacking the microphone and accusing the liberal stalwart of ignoring the issue.

Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill are defending the young activists using confrontation to press top Democratic presidential candidates to tackle the nation’s protracted problems of racial injustice.

In recent weeks, members of the Black Lives Matter movement have gone after the leading Democratic hopefuls –– most notably during a viral weekend encounter with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) –– urging them to prioritize criminal justice reform and other race-related issues on the campaign trail.

The activists have employed the controversial tactic of interrupting stump speeches and other public forums, which has drawn fire from many Democrats as an uncivil and misguided effort that targets allies, rather than opponents, of such reforms.

But a number of black Democrats disagree, arguing that race-based problems have been neglected for too long, even by liberal policymakers, and the activists have tapped into a vein of frustration that justifies their methods.

“They really are speaking to the issues, and we’re really long overdue responding to those issues,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said in a phone interview. “They’ve been pointed, non-violent and strong, and I’m not offended.