The crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination continues to grow. Several Democratic candidates, including Kamala Harris, attended the 2019 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans over the weekend.
During a speech at the Essence Fest, Harris promised to set aside $100 billion to help Black people invest in home ownership in “redline” areas.
Harris said, if elected president, she would invest $100 billion in grants that would target low-income Black people who don’t currently have the opportunity to own a home.
To qualify under Harris’s plan, Black applicants must agree to rent or live in redlined areas that haven’t historically rented or leased to Black people.
“So we must right the wrong and – after generations of discrimination – give black families a real shot at home ownership – historically one of the most powerful drives of wealth,” Harris said.
She said Black Americans have been “institutionally and historically deprived legally from having access” to wealth through homeownership. Harris is pictured at the Essence Music Fest with Essence execs Richelieu Dennis, left, Michelle Ebanks, 2nd from left, and Rev. Al Sharpton.
The $100 billion in grants would help 4 million Black families. But some Blacks were skeptical during call-ins to urban talk radio shows and Podcasts. Many don’t believe she cares about Black people.
As a California prosecutor, Harris was tough on Black men. She has been accused of keeping inmates locked up to provide cheap labor to the state.
In one article, titled “Kamala Harris Has Been Tough On Black People, Not Crime,” journalist Blake S. writes:
“As someone from the Bay Area and living in Oakland, I am constantly reminded of her history of locking up Black people in the Bay Area. Her track record consists of terrorizing Black communities through the prison industrial complex and she has consistently shown herself to be an enemy to the masses of Black people.”
Question: Based on Harris’ track record as a tough-as-nails prosecutor, do you trust her when she says she will set aside $100 billion to invest in Black people if she is elected president?
Photos by Paras Griffin/Getty Images
