Vice President Kamala Harris introduced a new initiative on Monday that aims to provide forgivable small business loans with a focus on racial equity, as she seeks to enhance her appeal among black male voters.
The Harris campaign launched its “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which aims to offer one million loans of $20,000 each to black entrepreneurs and individuals who have historically encountered obstacles in establishing or expanding their businesses. This policy aligns with the broader objectives of the Biden administration, which seeks to prioritize racial considerations in various significant government programs and initiatives. These include financial assistance to black American farmers who experienced discrimination prior to 2021 and the Justice40 initiative, which mandates that 40% of the benefits from certain environmental expenditures and programs be directed toward “disadvantaged communities.”
“Drawing on insights from her experience throughout her career and her Economic Opportunity Tour, today Vice President Harris is laying out an Opportunity Agenda for Black Men to provide them with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights,” the Harris campaign wrote in its new plan. “This pathbreaking agenda includes: Providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business.”
Kamala Harris – Opportunity… by Nick Pope
The Small Business Administration is set to collaborate with “trusted partners on the ground” to facilitate the distribution of business loans to beneficiaries as part of Harris’ new initiative. These forgivable loans aim to support “entrepreneurs with promising ideas who lack the necessary resources, connections, or access to capital to launch their businesses, particularly those in underserved communities.”
These forgivable small business loans represent only one aspect of the newly introduced “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.” Additional proposals encompass the enhancement of job training programs tailored for black men, the initiation of health initiatives addressing conditions such as sickle cell disease that disproportionately impact black men, and the legalization of recreational marijuana, along with efforts to assist black Americans in benefiting from this industry.
The Harris campaign released this new policy memo following recent polling that revealed the vice president’s challenges in garnering support from black men in her competition against former President Donald Trump. Historically, black voters have been a crucial demographic for the Democratic Party and its candidates; thus, even a slight decline in their support for Harris could significantly jeopardize her electoral chances.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama secured the votes of black men aged 18 to 44 by a remarkable margin of 81 points. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton achieved a 63-point advantage in this demographic against Trump, while President Joe Biden won this segment of the electorate by 53 points in 2020. Current data suggests that Harris is currently leading Trump among these voters by approximately 41 points, with just three weeks remaining until Election Day.
