Workers’ protest, candidate forum put spotlight on race and economic inequality

Hours before they sat down with broadcaster Soledad O’Brien to talk about the racial wealth gap, a few Democratic presidential hopefuls listened to Taiwanna Milligan explain how hard it is to take care of a chronically ill child on $7.25 an hour.
“I’m a single mother of a sick 12-year-old. My son has sickle cell anemia,” said Milligan, 42, of Orangeburg, who has worked at McDonald’s restaurants in and around Charleston for eight years. “On this salary, I can’t take care of my sick son without government assistance.”