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In Philadelphia Campaign Stop, Sen. Kamala Harris Talks Boosts For Black Biz, Criminal Justice
Sept. 18, 2020
In an effort to engage Black voters in battleground states, Sen. Kamala Harris, toured Black businesses and organizations in Philadelphia on Thursday. It was her first appearance in the city since her running mate, Joe Biden announced that his campaign would be headquartered there, the Philadelphia Tribune reported.
In her stop, at a “Sister-to-Sister, Mobilizing in Action” event, Harris went through the details of policies she said would address particular issues in the Black community.
“The one thing about this COVID…it has been an accelerator…It has accelerated the disparities. It has highlighted the injustices,” said Harris, according to the Tribune.. “There are the issues that we need to address in our education system, in our criminal justice system, in our economic systems, in our public health system and not one to the exclusion of the others.”
She said that a Biden-Harris administration would provide access to capital for small businesses, which have been suffering much of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“One of our biggest areas of focus is what we need to do around access to capital, so we will put $100 billion targeted at Black and brown communities into low interest loans for small business communities that are working in the community,” she said. “Access to capital is simply about giving people the ability to start up. The entrepreneurship is already in the community but the access to capital is not.”
Regarding criminal justice, she said the campaign is proposing a national ban on chokeholds and carotid artery holds saying that if such a ban were already in place “George Floyd would still be alive today.”
“It is about what we need to do around police accountability as well as reform of the system as a whole. We need a national use of force standard,” said Harris. “In many jurisdictions, when there is an excessive use of force, the question that is asked about that use of force, is, Was that use of force reasonable? We all know you can reason away just about anything. The more fair question to ask is was that use of force necessary?”
New Black Voter Outreach Initiative Will Target 12 States, Run Digital PSAs and Ads
Sept. 17, 2020
A new major outreach initiative to get African American and other marginalized communities to the polls has been launched as the 2020 presidential election approaches.
The Black Voters Matter Fund says on its website that its intention is to increase voter registration, advocate for policies to expand voter access, develop election staff, candidates and training, and occasionally fund activities related to elections.
This latest effort is aimed at getting voters engaged in 12 different states in the south and midwest through radio ads, digital PSAs and voter caravans.
“With just seven weeks until Election Day, it is more important than ever that voters remain active, informed, and engaged,” said LaTosha Brown, BVMF co-founder in a statement. “We are in the midst of a historic election year, one where Americans — particularly Black Americans — face the compounding crises of a global pandemic, record-high unemployment, police brutality, and rampant voter suppression.
“But with the power of our votes,” she continued, “we can hold leaders accountable and create a path toward change in our communities. Today, we are launching this initiative to continue building that power and to help Black voters use the power of the polls this November.”
The ads began on Monday (Sept. 14), and will air until the day before the election, Nov. 2. The caravans will be led by 15-passenger vans and will drive around metropolitan areas in key states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The BVMF announced last week its partnership with BET and the National Urban League for National Black Voter Day on Friday (Sept. 18).
Black Religious Leaders Blast Trump Ad Showing Violent Protests With Biden In Church
Sept. 16, 2020
The leaders of an African American church in Wilmington, Del., say a Donald Trump campaign ad that shows footage Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden kneeling in a church sanctuary is racist and they want an apology for it.
Rev. Silvester S. Beaman, who is pastor of Bethel AME Church, which is shown in the digital ad spot told Religion News Service that it depicts church leaders and congregations as “thuggish rule breakers.”
It shows multiple videos of violent protests, then cuts to footage of Biden kneeling in Bethel AME in front of several church leaders, including Beaman. It ends with a visual that says, “stop Joe Biden and his rioters”
The footage is of Biden’s visit to Bethel in June after the death of George Floyd when massive protest began.
“The ad is overtly racist and offensive on numerous levels,” Beaman said. “It is a racist attack on the African American church, and because it was an attack on the Christian church, it should be offensive to every Christian and person of faith.”
The leadership of the African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination sent a draft of a statement on the ad to RNS, also decrying the depiction.
“This ad subtly incites white terrorism against people of color and attacks the Black Church and Black people for refusing to bow down to the idol called white supremacy,” the statement said.
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