(NewsNation) — In an effort to appeal to a key constituency, Vice President Kamala Harris released her plans specifically for Black men. Her campaign says this is part of her Opportunity Agenda and it comes as she makes a significant push to show that she is listening and responding to these voters.
Harris believes the policy proposals will help equip Black men with “the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights.”
On the economic front, Harris intends to provide one million loans that would be fully forgivable of up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs. Her campaign explained that this is designed to help those who don’t necessarily have the resources to start a business or are located in underserved communities. They said the loans will be provided through a new partnership between the Small Business Administration and some lenders and banks, particularly those with a commitment to their communities.
She also wants to expand access to affordable banking options to help those who she says are “locked out of the banking system — and the wealth building that comes with it — because of high fees to save, invest, and build credit.”
And in a particularly targeted move, Harris wants to provide support for Black farmers and ranchers who are financially stressed and don’t have access to capital due to discriminatory reasons. The financial support is designed to help them stay competitive as they grow their farms and ranches. She met with a group of North Carolina Black farmers just yesterday before her rally in Greenville, NC.
Finally, Harris hopes to create regulations around cryptocurrency and other digital assets to ensure that those who participate in that market are protected.
Jobs and mentorship programs also feature heavily in her plans. She wants to invest further in community mentorship programs that focus on helping young Black men succeed. She hopes to double the number of apprenticeships in the country so more people can gain access to high-paying jobs. And she wants to create a pipeline of Black male teachers in partnership with the Department of Education, the circular benefits of which would create more jobs while improving the educational outcomes of Black students.
On health care, a Harris administration plans to launch a National Health Equity Initiative that would focus on diseases like diabetes, sickle cell disease, and prostate cancer, that disproportionately affect Black men. She also wants to expand access mental health and substance abuse treatments.
Harris has previously stated her commitment to legalizing recreational marijuana and she reiterated that commitment in this policy proposal while adding that she also wants to ensure Black men are able to obtain jobs and wealth in what would be a newly legal industry.
The Harris campaign’s focus on Black men comes as a Cook Political Report shows that their polling average among Black voters, has Harris with 80% support among Black voters to Trump’s 15%. That is not quite at the level of support that President Biden achieved in 2020. Back then, he received 87% of the vote to Trump’s 12%. However, Harris’ support has jumped nine points since she joined the race and is hoping to keep trending upwards.
In addition to new policy, this week in particular, Harris has been meeting Black men in person and sitting down for interviews with media with predominantly Black audiences. She sat down with journalist Roland Martin who owns his own media company and Justin Carter of The Shade Room. Today she’ll be interviewed by the popular radio host, Charlamange tha God in Detroit. Before last night’s rally in Erie, Harris met with a group of Black men from the area at a Black-owned business and today in Detroit, she’s set to meet with Black entrepreneurs.
NewsNation reached out to Donald Trump’s campaign and requested any policy he has for Black men. None was provided. However, his campaign pointed to the bipartisan passage and creation of Opportunity Zones under his presidency. In August of 2020, his administration said these zones had the potential to lift a million people out of poverty. However, the program has received bipartisan criticism over allocation of funds with some believing the primary beneficiaries of these zones were real estate investors and not underserved communities as intended.
Trump’s campaign also touts his signing of the bipartisan First Step Act which was focused on criminal justice reform. The bill helped promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism in prisons as well as reducing excessive sentences in the federal prison system. The bill was in response to harsh criminal justice policies that disproportionately impacted people of color and Black Americans in particular.
Trump has been trying to make the argument that his policies are better than Harris’ for Black Americans. Janiyah Thomas, Team Trump Black Media Director, said in a statement that “Kamala Harris is making a last-minute attempt to win over Black men after years of failure. For four years, Black men and their communities have suffered under Kamala’s economy and unchecked illegal immigration, while Democrats funneled billions to Ukraine.”
Election Day is just 21 days away and early voting is already underway in many states, including the swing states of Georgia and Arizona with more starting to vote in the coming days.
