United States – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris introduced new policy initiatives to support Black men on Monday: small business loans with no payoff and a new market in legal recreational marijuana.
New Policies Aimed at Black Men
The Harris campaign and Democrats – including former President Barack Obama – have been very worried about whether Black males will vote in the Nov. 5 election like they used to and whether they will vote for Harris or Trump, as reported by Reuters.
The new slate of policy proposals is part of an effort Harris has lately tried to appeal more directly to Black men and to bring them more into her campaign this late run. Reuters was the first to report the plan.
Economic Support for Black-Owned Businesses
The new policies consist of $1mln loans that are completely nonreclaimable of up to $20,000 to starts in disregarded communities, … legalizing recreational cannabis, and guaranteeing decent results for block starts in the new industry.
Federal Health Equity Campaign
There are other propositions as well: increasing representation and inclusion of Black Americans in the cryptocurrency business, starting a federal health equity campaign focused on Black males, and such illnesses as sickle cell anemia, which is a major issue in the African American community.
Since the plans are meant for the Black community with a focus on women of color, Harris is trying to position herself to talk about how her economy plans to serve all men.
Harris, if elected, will become the second Black president and the first Black woman president of the country. Some Democrats think Biden’s less-than-strong support from Black men is a problem for the democratic campaign, while others say that the bloc is being blamed for other failures in her campaign.
Harris Campaign’s Response to Black Male Voters
Young Black men indexed the highest support, with 28 percent saying they would vote for Trump in the election race, a poll conducted in September by the NAACP, the largest civil rights organization in the US, revealed. Joe Biden withdrew about eighty percent of the Black male vote in the just-concluded 2020 elections.
The policy rollout is to occur one day before Harris is set to be interviewed by Charlamagne tha God, a comedian and author of the nationally syndicated radio show that is famous among Black millennials. He also serves as an active critic of the Biden administration, as reported by Reuters.
Harris is also expected to speak on Monday about the new policy directions whenever she is in Erie County, Pennsylvania.