There’s been a notion that Black men have been defecting away from their traditional Democratic voting habits and are now leaning more toward siding with Republican candidates and views.
While this may be true for some Black men, by and large, most Black men still tend to have left-leaning views and voting habits. According to a Pew Research study, 92 percent of Black voters cast their vote for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, compared to just eight percent for Donald Trump. However, Pew said seven percent of Black voters over 50 currently identify as or lean Republican, while 17% of Black voters under 50 align with the Republican Party.
So while there is a growing concern among Black men that the views of the Democratic party don’t align with their personal interests, that’s not the case with the overwhelming majority of Black voters, and particularly Black men.
Doubling down on her commitment to engaging Black men and Black voters, today, the Vice laid out what she’s calling an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” focused on equipping Black men with the tools to achieve financial freedom; lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families; and protect their rights.
“For Vice President Harris, getting by is not enough – it’s about making sure that Black men in America have the opportunity to get ahead, to thrive, and to be the change agents in communities across the nation,” the Harris-Walz campaign said.
This path-breaking agenda is “drawn from insights from her experience throughout her career and from her Economic Opportunity Tour” and includes:
- Providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business. Building on her plans to help more small businesses start, innovate, and expand by increasing the tax deduction for small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000, supporting innovation hubs and business incubators, and cutting unnecessary red tape, Vice President Harris today is announcing plans to provide 1 million loans that are fully forgivable of up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others who have a good idea but don’t have the resources, connections, or access to capital to get their business off the ground, as well as entrepreneurs locating small businesses in underserved communities. These loans will be provided through a new partnership between the Small Business Administration and trusted partners on the ground like mission-driven lenders and banks with a proven commitment to their communities.
- Championing education, training, and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries and lead their communities, including pathways to become teachers. In partnership with trusted community organizations, HBCUs, and federal agencies, Vice President Harris’ agenda is focused on creating and investing in programs that help expand pathways for Black men to get good- paying jobs, whether or not they have a college degree. This includes:
– Investing in more Black male teachers. Black student retention rates and overall success is increased when they have at least one black male teacher during their elementary school years, yet only 1% of public school teachers are Black men. With that in mind, Vice President Harris will invest in programs under the Department of Education, which Trump wants to eliminate, to collaborate with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that will empower Black men and others to enter and succeed in the teaching profession.
– Promoting registered apprenticeships and credentialing opportunities in Black communities. She will bring together high schools, trusted community organizations like the National Urban League, state and local governments, and the private sector to ensure that Black men are able to get the training and technical credentials they need to succeed in registered apprenticeship opportunities and access jobs in highly paid, sought-after professions.
– Strengthening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. She will support and strengthen the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program—which Trump tried to eliminate as President—to recruit and retain Black male teachers.
– Investing in Leadership Training and Mentorship Programs. She will support programs like My Brother’s Keeper and increase investments in leadership training and mentorship programs within public schools as well as HBCUs and MSIs to provide more opportunities for young Black men to develop leadership skills early and throughout their development.
- Supporting a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets so Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected. Vice President Harris knows that more than 20% of Black Americans own or have owned cryptocurrency assets, which is why her plans will make sure owners of and investors in digital assets benefit from a regulatory framework so that Black men and others who participate in this market are protected.
- Launching a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black Men that addresses sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate cancer, and other health challenges that disproportionately impact them. Black men face elevated risk of health conditions like diabetes, sickle cell disease, prostate cancer, and more. That’s why Vice President Harris will cap insulin costs at $35 a month and out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs at $2,000 for all Americans, bringing down costs for Black Americans—who are two-thirds more likely to have diabetes and are more likely to report rationing their drugs because of cost concerns. She will expand preventative screening programs, including prostate and colon cancer screenings, where the risk factors for Black men are especially high. And, she will expand the budget of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, fully fund the Sickle Cell Data Collection Program, and build a sickle cell database to improve prevention and treatment. And, she will work with states to relieve medical debt impacting 1 in 4 Black households—significantly higher than the rate of medical debt for all households.
- Legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry. Vice President Harris will break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back by legalizing marijuana nationally, working with Congress to ensure that the safe cultivation, distribution, and possession of recreational marijuana is the law of the land. She will also fight to ensure that as the national cannabis industry takes shape, Black men—who have, for years, been overpoliced for marijuana use—are able to access wealth and jobs in this new market. It’s a stark contrast with Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice threatened federal prosecutions for marijuana in states where marijuana use is legal, threatening the unjust and disproportionate use of marijuana possession laws to put Black Americans behind bars.
“This agenda is a further realization of Vice President Harris’ Opportunity Economy. An economy where people don’t just get by but get ahead. Where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth. Donald Trump could care less about equipping hardworking Americans with the tools needed to get ahead,” said Congressman and Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond.
“From being investigated by the Department of Justice for refusing to rent to Black tenants, to falsely accusing the Central Park 5 and calling for their execution, to spreading the racist birther conspiracy theory against President Obama, at every step of his life Donald Trump put Black men down for his own personal brand.
“If he wins in November, he is telling us exactly what he’ll do to Black men: not only will he raise costs on Black families, his Project 2025 agenda will grant blanket immunity to the police regardless of their behavior, require stop-and-frisk, terminate Obamacare and repeal the $35 insulin cap, and roll back anti-discrimination policies left and right. While Vice President Harris is promising to equip Black men with the tools needed to pursue our dreams and aspirations, Donald Trump is promising Black in America a national nightmare.”
In the final weeks of the campaign, Team Harris-Walz will take the vice president’s Opportunity Agenda on the road with programming specifically designed to engage Black men.
As part of the campaign, Pontiac man and union laborer Gerald Allen kicked off a national commercial featuring him and his family, detailing the contrasts between Harris and Trump. The ad will run nationally across battleground states. Additionally, the Harris-Walz team will be campaigning and promoting the Opportunity Agenda for Black men at Black-owned sports bars and restaurants across battleground states throughout October.
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