There is injustice in America. There is discrimination.
There is a legacy of racism and inequality that lives still
in our institutions, our laws, and in too many people’s
hearts that makes it harder for Black people to succeed.
These are facts in the United States of America in 2020, and
we must all do more to move our nation closer to the ideals
inlaid at our founding—that all women and men are created
equal.
This year has also brought us too many examples of the
dangers Black people can face in the course of going about
their lives. With grieving hearts, we learned to say the
names of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and
many more. I’ve spent time with the families of George Floyd
and Jacob Blake, sharing their grief and anger and seeing
the incredible resilience of communities that for too long
have had a knee on their neck. And I was inspired by their
commitment to turn their pain into purpose.
Today, there are Americans all across this country,
especially Black Americans, who are exhausted and hurting.
Who are disappointed by a system that never seems to deliver
for your communities. Who are sick and tired of a cycle
where, in good times, Black communities lag behind, in bad
times they get hit first and hardest, and in recovery, they
take the longest to bounce back.
We’re in the midst of four simultaneous crises—a pandemic
that has claimed more than 200,000 lives, a disproportionate
number of whom were Black; an economic crash that has hit
Black workers and Black business owners especially hard; a
long overdue reckoning on racial justice; and a climate
crisis that is already hurting Black and Brown communities
the most.
It is our job to do everything in our power to rip out
systemic racism across our society, root and branch. It will
be hard work in any case. But we will not succeed without a
leader who understands our history and is ready to grapple
with our challenges.
President Trump wants to paper over the living wound of
racism. He’s issued Executive Orders and established a new
national commission designed to whitewash our history—and
deny the daily reality of being Black in America. He
actively appeals to white supremacists and fans the flames
of hatred and division in our country, because he thinks it
benefits him politically. He ignores the most basic job of
every president: the duty to care for all of us, not just
those who voted for him.
It’s the polar opposite of what I will do as president. I
was proud to serve for eight years alongside President
Obama. I watched up close how he filled the Oval Office with
dignity and compassion for others. And, together with
Senator Kamala Harris as my vice president, we will restore
honor, integrity, and competence to the White House.
We will build an administration that looks like America,
including nominating the first Black woman to serve on the
Supreme Court.
We will work to unite the country around solutions that will
push our country forward, and most importantly, I will
listen to those impacted by the long-standing inequities in
our system—especially Black Americans, Latinos, Asian
Americans, and Native Americans.
That’s how we will work together to deliver real, lasting
change. Criminal justice and policing reforms, but also
economic opportunity and financial stability. Building
wealth for families of color and passing it down. Closing
the racial wealth gap is one of the most powerful ways we
can build real equity in our society, and it’s going to
require a full-court press. That’s what my Lift Every Voice
plan is—a comprehensive agenda to take on the range of
issues that drive inequality in Black America.
We’ll tackle student debt and invest more in our HBCUs, so
higher education is a pathway to wealth and opportunity
instead of to debt that prevents you from owning a home or
starting a small business.
My plan will empower Black-owned small businesses, with
short-term relief to get you through this tough time and
long-term investments to help you build back better — with
access to new capital and financing and government
contracts.
Critically, we’re going to tackle the racial homeownership
gap head on. There is no greater vehicle for wealth creation
than homeownership. That’s why my plan will restore the
steps President Obama and I took toward eradicating housing
discrimination, including redlining; end racial bias in how
we judge which families are credit-worthy; and provide a
$15,000 down payment tax credit to help millions of young
Black families buy their first home.
We’ll fix our upside-down tax system to finally reward work,
not wealth. Trump thinks billionaires deserve more tax cuts.
But under my plan, I’ll make sure the super wealthy and big
corporations pay their fair share, while ensuring that no
one making less than $400,000 a year sees their taxes go up.
And I’m going to fight like hell to defend your family’s
health care, just like I would my own. Right now, in the
midst of a pandemic, Donald Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme
Court to overturn Obamacare—all of it. He wants to overturn
the very law that expanded coverage to an additional 3
million Black Americans. If he succeeds, more than 20
million Americans will lose their coverage, and more than
100 million people with preexisting conditions will no
longer be protected against their insurance companies
charging them more, or denying them coverage all together.
I’ll defend Obamacare and build on it—adding a public option
that will automatically enroll four million more people that
Republicans shut out by refusing to expand Medicaid in their
states. We’re going to get to universal coverage and lower
health care costs. We’re going to give working families a
bigger subsidy to lower their premiums. And we’re going to
take on pharmaceutical companies, bringing down the cost of
your prescription drugs by 60 percent.
As my friend John Lewis used his final words to remind us:
“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the
soul of America.” We cannot be tired. We cannot be hopeless.
The choice in this election couldn’t be more stark, and we
must vote for the future we want for every single one of our
children. I’m ready to fight for you and your families, and
I hope to earn your vote.
Ed. Note: Reprinted from the NNPA Newswire
|