Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a proposal to provide 1 million loans to black men that are forgivable up to $20,000, decriminalize marijuana federally, and create business opportunities for black Americans in the recreational marijuana industry:
Vice President Harris is laying out an agenda to give Black men the tools to build wealth and achieve financial freedom, lower costs for themselves and their families, and protect their rights — addressing the issues that Black men across the country have told her are their top concerns.
- Provide 1 million forgivable loans 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
- Launch a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black men
- Legalize marijuana at the federal level to break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back
- Lower costs by enacting the first-ever federal ban on corporate price-gouging for food and groceries
- Lower rent and provide down payment assistance to triple the number of new first-time Black homeowners
She promises to “legalize marijuana at the federal level” and create opportunities for black men in the recreational marijuana industry, despite her record of prosecuting over 1,500 people for marijuana-related offenses during her time as attorney general of California.
In addition to “legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry,” she says, she 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.
A statement on her campaign website alleges that former President Donald Trump “Doesn’t Care About Black Men and Their Families.” She claims Trump would be hostile toward black men:
Following the murder of George Floyd, Trump described Black protestors as “THUGS,” threatening that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” As president he referred to Haiti and African nations as “s***hole countries.” And, most recently, Trump spread falsehoods about Black Haitians “eating the pets” of their neighbors and in the past described Haiti and other majority Black nations as “s***holes.” If he’s re-elected, his hostility toward Black men and their communities will continue.
The announcement comes after Harris’ campaign faced criticism from Democratic commentators for “lecturing black men,” as well as recent polling data showing she has the lowest Democratic margin among black men since 1960.
