Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a plan on Monday aimed at increasing economic opportunities for Black men, a key voting bloc that Democrats are working to energize ahead of the 2024 election.
The plan includes offering forgivable business loans to Black entrepreneurs, expanding apprenticeship programs, and researching diseases like sickle cell anemia that disproportionately impact Black men.
In line with her previously stated support for marijuana legalization, Harris also highlighted the need to ensure Black men have a stake in the emerging cannabis industry. Additionally, her proposal includes better regulation of cryptocurrency to protect Black men and other digital asset investors.
Harris’s “opportunity agenda for Black men” is seen as a strategy to re-engage African American males, particularly as there are concerns that some may choose to sit out the election rather than vote for either Harris or her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.